A Werewolf In The Making
by Cheerfully Blue
Summary: I love that Chloe and Derek are together, but I have always felt bad for Simon. So I decided to create a character just for him. Her name is Jessa. This story will include the main characters from Darkest Powers right from the start. Please read it's good
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, so I have been reading Fan Fiction for a while, and I have finally decided to give it a shot and hope I don't wreck everything. I have always loved Chloe and Derek being together and I do not want that to change. Ever. But while I was reading the book I felt bad for Simon. I mean the girl he might have possibly loved went for his brother, that kind of sucks. So I decided that Simon needs to end up with someone. And since we all know it can't be Chloe or Tori I had to invent a new character for him. And so now I proudly present Jessa!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Darkest Powers series, but I do own my copies of the books, which I totally love!**

Chapter 1: First Scent

Jessa walked out of the used bookstore, automatically pulling the hood of her sweatshirt over her head, hiding her face. She stuffed her newly bought paperback book into her pocket. She had been saving up her money for weeks, doing odd jobs around the city, like always. Money was hard to come by when you were a 16-year-old living on your own in the city. It was tough, but she'd rather be here than back where she once was. Images of labs and flashes of kids' faces went through her brain. Jessa shuddered and shook off the flashbacks; they weren't welcome here.

She stepped out onto the sidewalk, pushing her black hair more securely out of sight. She wore an oversize gray hoodie, and baggy jeans that boys were meant to wear. She ducked her head and started walking, shoulders slumped and legs dragging in a relaxed strut, the way dude's walked. In this part of the city you don't just walk outside by yourself at night, not if you're a girl. So she dressed like a guy, avoiding the local hangouts of gangs, keeping herself scarce.

Jessa stiffed the air, her mouth watering at the smell of burgers and hot dogs some vender was selling far away. Having a super sense of smell was great at times when it came to searching for a new place to shack down; but when you were barely making it to one meal to the next, being able to smell food you couldn't eat really became torturous. Stomach rumbling, Jessa walked, wanting to get back to her current home so she could read the book she worked so hard to get.

She met Purple half way there. Purple was her friend from the lab they had grown up in when they were little. They were never really given official names so all the kids picked out their own. Purple named herself after her favorite color, and Jessa had named herself after the nicest nurse at the lab, the one who always kissed her cheeks.

"So, did you get that book you wanted?" Purple asked, skipping along beside her, brown hair bouncing.

Jessa nodded, not speaking as they passed a bunch of guys in leather jackets.

Purple scowled, "I don't know why you insist on dressing like a dude, Jessa. If any guy around here even tried to hurt you, you could tear them to pieces."

Jessa shrugged, it was true, she could beat up any guy around here with her super strength; but it was still safer to stay under the radar.

Purple skipped up to some wanna-be gangster and leaned against the wall next to him, copying his pose, "You could totally beat him up!" she called back to Jessa, "Couldn't she Mr. I'm-trying-to-be-cool-but-am-instead-failing-miserably? I believe she could." Jessa rolled her eyes and kept walking as Purple laughed and skipped up next to her.

"See," Purple said smugly, "He didn't even care."

"It's because your dead, idiot." Jessa mumbled to her.

Purple shot her an angry look, "And you feel the need to remind me why?"

"A gang of losers can't see you and that means they can't beat you up either. But, as for me, they can see me, beat me up, and can make me just as dead as you are now." Jessa told her, knowing the closest person was just some hobo down the street.

Purple smiled, "Touché, my friend, touché."

Yeah, Purple was dead, and was now just a ghost of the friend Jessa used to have. They had killed her. The people at the lab had killed Purple and all the other kids there because they were failed experiments. Jessa had gotten away after Purple (in ghost form) had found her and told her to run. And here she was, in New York, wondering around, knowing that she was a failed experiment and that something was wrong with her. Other than the fact that she can see ghosts of course. And that she was a werewolf.

Or at least she thought she was. Her and Purple had over heard more than one conversation between scientists, and they had figured out pretty quickly that's what they were. Jessa had yet to change into a wolf. She didn't know when she was supposed to or that she would even turn into a wolf. Sometimes she would stay up at night wondering if someday she would wake up and find herself in the body of a monster; not human, not animal, just a bloodthirsty beast.

She sighed and shook her head. Purple had told her more than once that there was no need to dread something that has yet to happen. She took a deep breath of cool night air, trying to relax. She stiffed and stopped walking.

Purple continued a few steps before realizing something was wrong, then stopped, "What is it?" She asked, all joking gone.

Jessa sniffed again, just to double check what she thought she smelled. Her eyes widened and she quickly ducked behind a building before the wind could change directions and her scent be sent the other way.

Purple followed suit, leaning against the building, "What do you smell?" she was whispering even though no one could possibly hear her except Jessa.

"A werewolf." Jessa breathed

"Oh, shit!" Purple swore, and peeked around the corner, "Do you think he smelled you?"

Jessa shrugged, panic causing her thoughts to become all jumbled up. She remembered the other experiments, the ones who were terminated long before Purple had been, the ones who were true failures. They had been extremely territorial, if you even looked at them the wrong way they would snap. She wasn't sure if that was normal for a werewolf or if she was normal for a werewolf, but she really didn't want to find out.

But she really wanted answers. Answers to the questions that had kept her up so many nights. She wanted to know that she wasn't alone in the world, about to turn into a monster at any moment.

"Where is he?" Purple asked.

"Down the street farther, maybe a few blocks away." Jessa whispered, staring stricken and the brick wall across from her.

"Well let's just see how dangerous this werewolf is." And before Jessa could stop her, Purple ran around the corner and down the street towards the werewolf.

Jessa moved farther into the alley she was already in, her hands shaking. Purple was back pretty quick, she ran up to Jessa.

"There's four of them." Purple said, "A big mountain of a guy, your werewolf I assume; a tinier Asian looking dude, a cute little blond girl, and a black haired girl. They're all teenagers, not much older than you; the blond one looks younger but tough. I think you can handle them. And Jessa," Purple looked concerned, "I think you should talk to him, the werewolf, I mean. I know I told you not to worry about anything, but you might never get another chance to talk to a werewolf again. And they look nice. Well, sort of. The girls look nice and so does the Asian guy, who, by the way, is totally gorgeous. The only scary one is the big dude, but he's huge, so he's scary without even trying." Purple was babbling.

Jessa held up a hand, stopping the word vomit that was coming out of Purple's throat "Is it safe?" Jessa asked.

"Do you have your knife with you?" Jessa gave her a look, "Right, dumb question. Okay, honestly? Yeah, I think you will be fine. Just don't do something stupid."

"And if something happens you will have my back?" Jessa asked.

"Of course! Where would you be without your partner in crime?"

Jessa smiled and started to walk out from around her corner. The wind was still blowing in her direction, carrying the scent of the other werewolf towards her. Every cell in her body longed to run away from the unknown threat. She didn't know who this other werewolf was, and she had no idea if this was his turf or not. She had always liked to think she was perfectly human, but now her instincts told her differently.

**I have no idea how long it will take before someone reads this; but if you do and you like, feel free to let me know. **

**Thanks- Cheerfully Blue**


	2. Chapter 2

**I want to thank all of you who reviewed, I love you all! I was so scared that no one would read it and I would slowly die on the inside. But you guys reviewed and I am still happily alive on both the inside and out. Now I'm going to go ahead and post my next chapter but I'm not sure when the third will be finished. I still have school for a few more weeks and I love to read so that's going to use up some of my time as well. Plus it is my goal to be a published author, and right now I'm writing a book so I will be busy with that too. But I am done with this chapter, so read and enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I am totally awesome, but I'm not as beastly as Kelley Armstrong; so that means the Darkest Powers is not in any way, shape, or form, mine. (I know, it's tragic).**

Chapter 2: First Meeting

She saw the group when they were still two blocks away from her. Purple had been right, the dude did look like a mountain. He was probably close to seven feet tall and he was huge, with big muscular shoulders he tried to cover with an oversized hooded sweatshirt.

They were probably 50 feet apart when the wind switched directions and the big dude stopped suddenly. The others ran into his out stretched arms, causing them to stop.

"It's a werewolf." Jessa heard the guy say; the others immediately tensed.

Mr. Werewolf stared her down, but Jessa had her hood pulled up around her face and there was no way he could see her. She let her instincts take control. She raised her hands slowly until they were up at her sides, the universal sign of wanting to do no harm. She took a few steps forward, and heard the other werewolf growl in response; but she continued until she was standing underneath an overhead light.

Once she was sure he could see her, she reached up and took her hood off. She saw the group's reaction; they had assumed that she was a boy, what with her clothes making her look like one. Purple had always called Jessa beautiful, pale skin and bright light green eyes. She had said she looked like a cat more than once, but a strong fierce one, like a leopard. Jessa had always thought it was funny seeing how, really, she was a wolf.

But the group's reaction showed that they hadn't been expecting a pretty teenage girl underneath the hood. And Jessa was pleased to see that the blond Asian boy Purple had called 'totally gorgeous' (which he was) was giving her a once over.

"Don't move." The werewolf told his group quietly, trying not to let Jessa hear, but he wasn't quiet enough. Jessa could still hear every word he was saying. "Don't run; it will only make her want to chase you."

"Derek, she's just a chick." The Asian boy said, obviously not seeing Jessa as a really big threat.

"And she's also a werewolf. I don't trust her. Don't run. Let me do the talking." The big one, Derek supposedly, raised his voice, "What's your name?"

Jessa hesitated, should she tell him?

"Go ahead!" Purple called over to her, she had run over to the group, checking them out, "I think we can trust them with your name." Jessa heard her snicker; knowing that giving them her name wasn't the end of the world.

"Jessa," She said quietly, knowing the werewolf would be able to hear her, "I'm Jessa."

Derek took in an impatient breath and spoke, "Speak louder; I want my friends to be able to hear you as well."

"My name is Jessa," She raised her voice, unafraid of hoodlums over hearing them; there was no one in hearing distance.

"Oooooo, Jessa!" Purple called over to her, she was examining the Asian boy, "He's insanely hot! Totally your type, I think you guys should hook up!"

Jessa rolled her eyes, that was just Purple being Purple.

"What do you want?" Derek the werewolf asked

"I just want to talk." Jessa called back

"I wonder what his name is?" Purple babbled, distracting Jessa, "He looks like a Tyler. Do you think he's a Tyler? Maybe a Wyatt, he kind of looks like a Wyatt. Or maybe he has some weird Asian name! What was that guy named in that book you were reading a few months ago? Hmmm…. I don't know. Doesn't matter, dude still looks amazing."

"His name is Simon." The tiny blond spoke quietly, looking right at Purple.

Jessa blinked. Purple blinked. "Did she just talk to me?" Purple called over, "Cause I'm pretty sure that was directed to me. Can she see me?"

"Yes, I can see you." The blond said, then to her group, "There's a ghost here. She's checking you out Simon, and I think our friend Jessa over there can see her, which doesn't make sense because she's a werewolf." Jessa could her the accusation in her voice.

"Can you see ghosts?" Derek snapped at Jessa, ever from far away she had trouble not flinching at his vicious voice.

"Don't say anything, Jessa." Purple called, staring at the blond girl, "They can't make you answer." She waved her hand in front of the girls face, and the blonde's eyes followed its path.

Jessa didn't say anything.

"What's the ghost doing, Chloe?" Derek asked the blond, his eyes never leaving Jessa.

"Waving her hand in front of my face." Chloe, the blond, said back.

Simon and the black hair girl snorted. Purple jumped backwards with an oath, "She can see me!" Purple ran back over to Jessa, "She can see me! Like actually_ see_ me!"

"Because I always thought there was another meaning to the word 'see'" Jessa mumbled to her sarcastically.

"Who are you talking to!" Derek called over to her, louder than necessary.

Jessa didn't answer, she wasn't stupid.

"Tell me who you are talking to!" Derek roared, taking a step towards her. Jessa tensed and, without thinking, took up a fighting stance.

Chloe grabbed Derek's arm, holding him back; or rather causing him to realize what he was doing, because the was now way a girl that small could stop a guy that big.

"She's talking to the ghost. They know each other." she told him quietly.

"You're a werewolf," Derek told her harshly, his glare having full power even though they were still far away from each other, "You don't see ghosts. It's not possible."

"Well maybe it isn't." Purple yelled back, being offended by Derek, "But a lot of things those scientists did to us seemed to be not possible."

"W-wait." Chloe's voice suddenly took up a stutter, "The ghost just said that scientists d-did stuff to them."

Jessa turned on Purple and whispered viciously, "Are you stupid! She can hear you! You can't just go belting out whatever you want like you usually do!"

Purple stared at the ground, dragging her toe over the concrete, murmuring that Jessa was right and that she was sorry.

But the rage in Derek seemed to lessen, and his angry expression turned into a slightly shocked and confused one. Jessa found that this was the best time for her to talk.

"I just want to ask you some questions." She called over, trying to sound as pleading as she could while her voice hovered close to yelling.

It was a while before Derek answered. He seemed to be thinking.

"She's no older than us, Derek." Simon whispered, "She can't hurt us."

"She's a werewolf, there's always a chance that she could hurt us." Derek rumbled.

"Wow, way to be a hypocrite, Derek." The black haired girl said sharply.

"Shut up, Tori." Derek snapped, "We don't know her, we don't trust her."

"She's just like you, Derek!" Tori shouted at him, "A few weeks ago you were a genetically altered werewolf who would've died for answers. She's just like you!"

That threw Jessa off, _he was genetically altered too?_

"Tori, shut up." Simon said.

"He's being stupid!" Tori snapped, "I've had enough of his I'm-leader-what-I-say-goes crap! I say we help her."

"You go, girl!" Purple shouted, waving her fist in the air.

"Tori's right," Chloe said quietly, before Derek could retort, "I think we should talk to her. What's the worse that could happen?"

Derek looked like he was about to explode when Simon added, "I agree. It can't hurt us."

Jessa could see the frustration on Derek's face, could see that he didn't agree. But she could also see him giving in to what his friends wanted, and Jessa tried to hide her excitement.

"Five, four, three, two…" Purple counted down,

"Is there somewhere we can go to talk in private?" Derek asked, but his voice showed that he highly doubted it.

"Score!" Purple jumped into the air, pleased that she had got the count down right.

"I know an abandoned building we can go to and talk." Jessa suggested as the group of four started to approach her.

"And how do you know it's abandoned?" Derek asked.

Jessa coughed uncomfortably, "Um, I live there."

"That jerk!" Purple raged, "He totally knew you lived there, he just wanted you to admit it! Don't let him intimidate you!" She gave him them the finger.

Jessa heard Chloe laugh quietly, then heard her explanation to Derek, "The ghost just flipped you off."

Simon and Tori both laughed, "I might have to meet this ghost. It is a girl right?" Simon asked, their group started to close the distance between them and Jessa.

Chloe nodded. "Oooooo!" Purple drawled, "Boy, I would love to get to know you, but unfortunately I'm dead, and no amount of wishing can change that. But I give Jessa permission to take my place as long as she swears to describe to me every make-out scene she has with you, in detail, until I find myself some new eye candy."

"Why do I have to describe it," Jessa asked, "You're going to be spying on us anyway."

"Touché," Purple said approvingly, "You're on a roll tonight."

Jessa listened in horror as Chloe actually relayed what Purple had said, causing Purple to laugh hysterically. Simon approached Jessa, and he looked even better close up. He had tan skin and his features showed that he had Asian blood in him, but his hair was blond. Jessa discreetly sniffed the air. She couldn't smell any dye in it, must be natural, weird.

Jessa watched as Simon gave her a once over, looking her up and down. He smiled at her and addressed Purple, which was weird since he couldn't actually see her, "I might have to take you up on that offer. Your friend here doesn't look too bad."

"Boy, you should see her when she's wearing girl clothes and is fresh out of the shower. If you think she looks good now, you'll worship her then." Purple was beaming, enjoying the conversation.

Jessa's face heated up. She wasn't sure which was more embarrassing: The fact that Simon seemed to like her, the fact the Purple just commented on how she looked, or the fact that Chloe actually repeated what Purple had just said.

Derek interrupted whatever Simon was about to say with, "Can we continue this somewhere else? Like the private abandoned building we were just talking about, for example."

"Uh, sure." Jessa muttered, "This way." And she turned and started walking in the direction that her and Purple had been heading earlier, the others close behind.

**Well that's chapter two for ya! Review please! I will love you for forever and for always!**

**Thanks- Cheerfully Blue**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey everyone! I finished Chapter 3 faster than I thought I would. I know not a lot of juicy stuff is happening right now, but I can't make things move too quickly. I've been thinking about it and I think my story is going to be a rather long one, and I don't know where I'm going to end it. But I figured I would deal with that problem later. So here's chapter number 3, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Darkest Powers Series *sighs heavily and sadly shakes head***

Chapter 3: First Night

Purple was walking beside Chloe, loving the fact that someone other than Jessa was now able to hear her. So that left Jessa walking beside Derek and Simon. She didn't mind the Simon part, he seemed nice. It was Derek who made her antsy. He was giving off bad vibes like they were a radio station. Maybe it was the fact that he was a werewolf that she didn't trust, and he didn't trust her. She wasn't sure but she could tell that he was receiving the same bad vibe thing from her.

"The neighborhood up here is bad," Jessa said quietly, not wanting her voice to travel past the little group, "Chloe and Tori should put their hoods up and get in the middle. Don't look anyone in the eye either." Jessa proceeded to pull her hood up, removing her face and long hair from sight, looking like a boy to the outside world.

The group obeyed her, Chloe and Tori pulling up the hoods on their jackets, and getting in the middle of the triangle that Jessa, Derek, and Simon created. They walked for a few more blocks, the condition of the buildings slowly getting more run down as they continued. Most of the creepy predators of the night ignored their group. A few drunks called out to them more than once, commenting on how Chloe and Tori seemed so lonely, but none of them acted on it. Jessa thought the main reason was that Derek glared at all of them, and even a drunk wasn't suicidal enough to mess with him.

When they finally reached the building that Purple and Jessa currently occupied, Jessa sent Purple inside to make sure that no one was in there. When Purple had confirmed that no hobos had decided to make the building their home for the night, they all walked up the front steps.

Jessa suddenly felt extremely self-conscious. The run down building that had always been ratty seemed even rattier. The smell of the place seemed to be even stronger and Jessa was ashamed to admit that her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. But she ignored that to the best of her ability, along with Tori's comments on everything (all of them not nice) and continued to the back of the first floor until they reached the room that Jessa slept in. She turned in the one lamp she had, the one that was powered by a solar battery, which she sat outside during the day. She smiled approvingly at her room.

The floor was cleared of all garbage that had collected over the years of abandonment and was instead covered with blankets that Jessa had found over the few months she had been living there. She had blacked out the windows to keep any of the light escaping and attracting unwanted visitors. She had a lay-z-boy she had found in the dumpster a while back sitting next to the lamp, it was still good condition. There was a mattress with a tangled mess of blankets on it lying next to the wall. A beat up beanbag sat in the middle of the room, a pile of tattered books next to it.

Purple walked right in, "Welcome!" she pronounced proudly, but no one but Chloe and Jessa could hear her.

The rest of the little gang followed in after her. Simon, Chloe, and Tori all nodded approvingly, but Derek cast weary eyes around the room, scanning it with scrutiny.

"Sweet," Simon murmured, seeing the beanbag, and quickly planted himself there.

"Um, make yourself comfy." Jessa told them awkwardly, leaning against the wall, hands in the pocket of her sweatshirt.

Chloe placed herself on the mattress sitting with her legs crossed and Tori sat rather hesitantly in the recliner, but soon relaxed into its fluffy goodness. But Derek stood in the center of the room, unmoving. Probably not wanting to relax and risk letting his guard down, Jessa assumed, knowing she probably would've done the same thing.

"Why can you see ghosts?" Derek shot at Jessa, breaking the silence of the room.

_Well, _Jessa thought, _Let's just dive right in, shall we? _But Jessa was really starting to get annoyed with Derek's crap. It was obvious that he didn't trust her, that he didn't want to be here; but she didn't need it broadcasted to her every second! What she wanted was answers, and giving them to her wasn't that much of a hassle on his part. He had no idea what Jessa had gone through just to be free from the lab she had grown up in, what she had gone though to just be alive. He didn't know, and he would never be able to fully understand everything. So Derek just needed to lose the attitude and put up with her for a little while.

So Jessa decided to played his game, "I don't know," She shrugged, and nodded towards Chloe, "Why can she see ghosts?" Internally she was smiling. Best way to press an annoyed persons buttons: answer a question with a question.

Derek glared at her, "She's a necromancer; she's supposed to see ghosts."

Jessa shrugged again, making herself look as indifferent as possible, "Guess I'm a necromancer too. Problem solved." She smiled sweetly, too sweetly.

Derek's dark green eyes flared with anger, "You're a werewolf, you don't see ghosts."

"Ahhhhhhh, but that's where you're wrong. I can see ghosts, and I am a werewolf, so it seems it is possible." She said.

"Werewolves don't see ghosts!" Derek roared at her, taking a step towards her, his anger loosening his hold on his self-control. Jessa took a step towards him, showing him she wasn't afraid, that his raised voice and large build didn't scare her; she could take him.

There was a strained silence in the room as her and Derek stared each other down, waiting for the other to back away, giving the dominance to the other werewolf. But Jessa refused to back down, if she wanted his trust, she would have to show that she was worth trusting, that she wasn't weak.

"You mentioned a lab earlier," Simon's voice broke the tense air, "Did you grow up in one?"

The question caught both her and Derek off guard and they both took a step back, neither winning the stare down. Jessa leaned against the wall, the picture of ease, nothing showing the mess she really was on the inside. Just thinking about the lab gave her the chills and she didn't even want to talk about it. But it was the only way for her to gain the group's trust, so she needed to suck it up.

Jessa gave a short nod, "Yeah, I grew up in one. Broke out about three years ago."

"What did they do to you?" Tori asked from the recliner.

"They did a lot of things." Jessa responded, ignoring the shudder from Purple as she remembered all the horrid details. "The main one being the fact that they murdered almost all of the subjects they experimented on, including Purple." Jessa gestured to where her friend was standing, "That's why I ran."

"Wait," Derek said confused, "Who's Purple?"

"The ghost," Chloe answered, "She named herself after her favorite color."

"She named herself?" Derek was wearing an odd look.

"Yeah," Jessa said quietly, "We were never given names, we were always referred to as Subject 1 or Subject 2 or 3 or 8, 9, 15, 21, which ever one you were. That's how we were identified, no names. It went on like that until all us 'subjects' realized that those weren't real names. So we chose our own."

"How old are you?" Derek asked quietly, not in a mean way, but in a cautious way. He knew that talking about her life in the lab was a touchy thing, and his temper seemed to have faded away.

Jessa shrugged, realizing, yet again, just how pathetic she was, "I don't know, 16 I guess. Give or take a year. I don't know my birthday, so I just sort of guess my age."

Derek nodded, "And why did you run away from the lab?" he asked.

"The scientists, they started to kill us." Jessa said, trying as hard as she could to keep her voice from shaking, " We were all living together, probably more than 60 of us, all of us around the same age. We had roommates, we shared toys, had friends. Over the years they had taken away kids, never bringing them back, saying that they were being moved to a different home, and we believed them, we didn't know any better. For as long as I remember kids had been taken away. They were failed experiments, something had gone wrong with them, and they had to be terminated. And slowly the numbers declined, and soon me and Purple were the only ones left."

Purple had moved over to Jessa while she was talking, and Jessa looked at her best friend who was smiling at her, encouraging her to continue, "We had long suspected something was up, something was wrong. We knew that what we were growing up in wasn't normal. We were just too scared to challenge it. Then one day Purple lost her temper. She started yelling and screaming and breaking things. They sedated her and took her away. They told me she was transferred." Jessa took a shuttering breath,

"It wasn't long after that, that her ghost came to me, telling me she was dead and that I needed to get out of there because I was next. The scientists had decided that the whole experiment was a dud and that I was no longer needed. So I ran." Jessa could feel the tears building up in her eyes, but she forced them to stay where they were, she would not show weakness.

Jessa looked over at Purple. She was wearing jeans and a dark purple sweater, the same outfit she had been wearing the day she got angry, the same one she had been wearing when she was terminated, the same one she would be wearing for all eternity. Purple still looked the same, long brown hair that was wavy and beautiful, and skin that had yet to be disturbed by acne. She had the appearance of a 13 or 14 year-old, and she would always look that way. Forever. The thought had always made Jessa's heart ache.

All the anger that had filled Derek's eyes before was now gone. He looked at her, not with pity in his eyes, no. It was understanding that filled them.

Everyone was silent for a long time. And Jessa refused to look anyone but Derek in the eyes, because if she didn't look him in the eyes, it showed weakness.

"You wanted to ask me some questions?" Derek prompted, moving from his spot in the middle of the room and heading towards the mattress. He sat down next to Chloe, putting his arm around her waist, letting her lean into him.

Purple whistled softly, "They're a couple? Wow. I never even saw that one coming! But he is kinda cute. After you get past the human mountain part and the horrible social skills."

Chloe gave Purple a look that clearly said, _He's mine._

"Peace, child." Purple told her, hands going up, "It's not like I'm going to steal him or anything. I'm just commenting."

Jessa ignored both of them. Derek had backed down. He backed down willingly when she hadn't been threatening him. It didn't give her dominance, but it did show that he trusted her. He knew that what she had to say was true and he believed her, that he didn't think they were being led into a trap. That meant the world to Jessa, because she knew that Derek would make a great ally.

Derek gave her a pointed look, one that said don't make such a big deal about it and hurry up and ask the questions she wanted answered.

"Um, yeah," Jessa slid down the wall until she was sitting with her back leaning against it, "When do werewolves first Change?"

"Around 18, at the earliest." Derek answered

Jessa frowned, and sniffed the air again. Derek gave off the scent of a fully grown werewolf, one that had already gone through the Change. Yeah, Jessa had never met an adult werewolf, so she had no idea what one smelled like, but apparently her instincts were stronger than she thought they were. And her instincts told Jessa that Derek wasn't 18, probably not even 17. He was lying.

"But you've Changed?" She let doubt creep into her voice, hoping that he really hadn't lied to her after she had just shared so much with him.

"Derek's different," Chloe said, in a way that showed she didn't mind that difference in him, "He Changed earlier than usual."

"Why?" Jessa hoped that she wasn't going to far by asking that.

"I grew up in a lab like you," Derek replied quietly, "But I got out when I was five. The scientists messed with my genes and that's probably why it happened earlier than usual."

Fear gripped Jessa. Had the scientists messed with her genes? How could she know?

"You'll be fine." Purple sat down beside her, "Stop worrying yourself, you'll have grey hair by age twenty if you keep that up." Purple smiled sweetly, "Now get back to your questions."

And so Jessa kept asking. She found out that when werewolves Changed, they transformed into wolves. They didn't turn into monsters; they just switched body forms, still able to control their actions. She found out how to become a werewolf. She was told about the Pack that had supposedly claimed all of New York as their territory. She learned that Tori was a witch, Simon was a sorcerer, and Derek was a lone werewolf, not part of the Pack. She peppered Derek with question after question until finally even he didn't know that answers to them.

"Enough," He held up his hand, a look of annoyance on his face, "I don't know everything, and it's getting late, we need to leave."

Jessa's eyes widened in shock, "You can't go out there this time of night. You'd be crazy if you did, supernatural or not."

"We can call Dad." Simon suggested from the beanbag chair, "Have him come pick us up here."

Jessa shook her head, "Any strange cars that stop here at night are going to get shot at. Unless you want to deal with a drive-by, I wouldn't have your dad come."

"Then what do you suggest we do?" Derek snapped at her.

"Stay here," Jessa said calmly, "Leave in the morning. It's safe as soon as the sun comes up."

"And we can call Dad." Simon said, obviously agreeing with her, "Tell him what happened, he will understand."

"Dad always understands," Derek told him, "It's Chloe's aunt who's going to throw a fit."

"I'll talk to her." Chloe said, "I'll make her see reason."

And so a really _long _phone call later, they were all getting sleeping arrangements organized. Tori and Chloe claimed the mattress, Simon called the beanbag (Jessa was still unsure how he was going to manage that), and Derek chose the recliner. That left Jessa on the floor, but she didn't mind, she'd had worse before.

After they turned the lamp off, everyone went quiet. Jessa laid in the dark, eyes open, listening to the breathing of the others. She turned her head and saw Simon fast asleep on the beanbag just a few feet away from her. He had his legs hanging off its side, his head placed at an odd angle. He was really cute just lying there sleeping, his mouth slightly open. She smiled, her arms covered in goose bumps, her face flushing.

Then her smile vanished. He was leaving tomorrow morning, they all were. And Jessa would probably never see them again. The thought made her eyes prick and her chest ache. It made no sense. She barely knew these people, and still she felt like they meant something to her, that she was meant to be with them.

A tear ran down Jessa's face, and she rolled over and faced the wall. It was a long time before she fell into a pitiful sleep.

**Thank you for reading! Leave me a review! Let me know what you think of it! But if you hate it, say you love it anyway. Ask questions and I will try to answer them to the best of my ability.**

**Thanks- Cheerfully Blue**


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay, so I got done with the fourth chapter faster than I thought I would. I hope you enjoy it! **

**Disclaimer: Me= Kelley Armstrong wannabe. Kelley Armstrong= Owner of the Darkest Powers Series.**

Chapter 4: First Kiss

Over the years Jessa had always woken up whenever she no longer felt tired. Having nothing to get up for and no one there to wake her up, there was really no reason to rise before noon. So when Simon shook her shoulder at eight the next morning, Jessa thought she was going to have a heart attack along with a premature death.

"What!" She snapped at him, her fear making her angry.

"Our dad is going to pick us up soon." He said, "I thought you would want to know." He walked away, leaving Jessa feeling like an idiot.

_Great, _she thought, _How To Attract A Guy: Rule #1- Snap at them. _Jessa rubbed her eyes and stretched, listening as her joints popped.

"Sounds like a gun going off." Tori commented from where she was sitting in the beanbag chair, "Good books by the way, where'd you get them?" She gestured to the pile of tattered books she was slowly looking through.

"Collected them over the years." Jessa replied, slowly sitting up and blinking, trying to get her grip on consciousness, "Didn't steal them, don't worry."

Tori made a random noise that said she wasn't listening anymore, but instead immersing herself in a book she had deemed worthy. Chloe was sitting on the mattress a blanket wrapped around her shoulders, talking to Simon who was leaning against part of the wall. She had no idea where Derek was, but she figured that didn't matter since he seemed like a big boy and could handle the not talking to strangers part.

"Well you look wide awake." Purple said, approaching Jessa, "How does it feel to be conscious before noon?"

"Like hell," Jessa muttered, which made Purple laugh.

"Well, Derek called his and Simon's dad, and yes they are brothers, Derek's adopted, of course. Anyway, he's going to be here soon. Derek's waiting outside for him, now."

Jessa nodded. She didn't want them to go; but their ride was coming and there was nothing she could do. And Simon. She probably hadn't said more than five sentences to him, but she still felt that there was something there. She felt like there was something going on between them that had caused them to connect instantly, that caused her stomach to flip as she sat there thinking about him.

And Purple, reading her mind, looked down at her and asked, "What are you going to do about Simon?"

"What can I do?" Jessa asked quietly, "They're leaving, they're not coming back, what's the point?"

"The point is that you like him and he likes you. That's the point!" Purple snapped, "Now stop whining and do something!" Purple shot her an angry look and walked through a wall, leaving Jessa.

Jessa sat there, unsure of what she was supposed to do. She had no experience with guys, never dated, never kissed one, she hadn't even flirted with one. She was way out of her element, and she definitely wasn't going to try something with Simon while Tori and Chloe were still in the room.

"Dad's here!" Derek yelled.

"Coming!" Chloe hopped up and dragged Tori away from the books, Simon following them out of the room, and they were gone.

Too late, Jessa was too late. She had missed her chance; they were leaving now, no way of ever seeing him again.

And then Chloe's voice drifted to her from the sidewalk, "I think I left my jacket on the mattress. Simon, can you go get it for me?"

"Yeah." And Jessa heard him as he made his way back to the room.

Jessa quickly went to grab Chloe's jacket from the bed. When Simon entered the room she was standing there with it in her hand.

"Looking for something?" She asked with a smile.

"Yeah, thanks." He took the jacket, but he made no move to head back out the door. They stood there, staring into each other's eyes. Jessa's brain processed so many things at once. Simon had gorgeous brown eyes, soft, warm, and just so kind. They were almost exactly the same height, Jessa was tall for her age, but Simon was just a tad bit taller. His hair, there was just something about it that she loved, she wasn't really sure what, he just had good hair.

"So, are we ever going to see each other again?" He asked, suggestively.

Jessa shrugged, "I don't know, I'm not going anywhere soon. I'll just stay here unless something happens and I have to move, but I highly doubt that will happen."

"Well, maybe I will come and see you some time." He said, moving closer to her, which made her heart beat in over-drive.

Jessa nodded, "Mmm-Hmm" She couldn't breathe, he was getting closer. She felt his hand on her arm, gently pulling her towards him. She went willingly, and soon her chest was against his and his arms were around her. He smelled so good! Yeah, there was the normal sweat, BO, and morning breath smells there, but it didn't bother her. Because underneath those everyday scents was this aroma that caused her eyes to flutter and her to stomach feel weird in the best way possible. She didn't even know how to describe the scent, it was just Simon, and it was SO insanely good.

"I do want to see you again Jessa," Simon told her firmly, looking into her eyes with the fiercest look, "I like you a lot and I want to get to know you."

Jessa nodded, agreeing, and in her head she was screaming, _Just kiss me already! _

And Simon put his hand on the back of her neck, bringing her face closer to his. The air was warm from their breath, and right before his lips pressed against hers, Jessa found that she was extremely nervous. Her hands were shaking and her legs threatened to give out, but then their lips met.

It was like an electric jolt hit her, Simon's lips were so soft against hers. He started to deepen their kiss, and she allowed him to do so. He tightened his arms around her, squeezing her, and she smiled against his lips.

"Go, Wonder Boy, go!" Purple cheered.

Jessa jumped and pulled away from Simon, her face heating. Purple and Chloe were standing in the doorway, Purple beaming and Chloe looking extremely uncomfortable.

"And here I was thinking you two were just going to talk; but looks like I'm going to be hearing about a make-out scene sooner than I thought I would." Purple wagged her eyes at Jessa, winking.

"I-I-I'm s-sorry!" Chloe's eyes were wide, "I d-didn't mean to. I w-was just-"

"It's okay, Chloe," Simon said softly, his face said that he was embarrassed, but his voice was solid and unwavering, "You were doing what?"

"I was just-"

"Simon and Derek's dad wants you to come with them!" Purple yelled, jumping up and down like a five year-old.

"Seriously!" Jessa couldn't believe it.

"Yup! Derek, Chloe, and Tori did some smooth talking and, BAM! Just like that! We're going with them!" Purple squealed happily and started bouncing again.

Chloe explained to Simon what had happened while Purple was ordering Jessa around like a drill sergeant, "Hop to! Hop to! Kit said to get your stuff and move! Come on, girl! Get going! Go, go, go, go, go!"

"Take your time, Jessa." Chloe said, smiling at her, "Kit isn't in a hurry and Purple here is just being dramatic."

Purple stuck her tongue out at her, and Jessa laughed.

"Okay," They heard Tori before they saw her, "We are so bringing those books with us. I don't care if I have to carry them myself, they are coming." Tori's expression willed anyone to challenge her.

Jessa started to pile up everything valuable, clothes, books, and whatever money she had hidden. It wasn't much, but it was all she had.

"You forgot this one!" Purple called, pulling a book out from under the Laz-E-Boy. She pick it up and dangled it in the air, then Purple threw it at Jessa as hard as she could, aiming at her face. Jessa caught the book, her reflexes were fast enough, she always caught everything Purple hurled at her. Jessa waved her prize in the air, and Purple huffed, turning her back on her.

Simon, Chloe, and Tori were staring at Jessa, mouths open, eyes wide.

"What?" Jessa asked, worried she had done something wrong.

"Purple can pick stuff up?" Chloe asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"That's not normal, ghosts don't just pick stuff up. Only half-demon ghosts do, special ones." Simon explained

"I'm half-demon?" Purple thought about it, "Cool! I feel the need to go posses someone now." Purple mimed a zombie, which made no sense, because zombies weren't possessed; but it was Purple, so that meant anything went.

Jessa started to stuff everything she decided to bring with her into a duffel bag she used to move from place to place when permanent spots weren't available.

"Oh, uck," Tori looked at the clothes Jessa was bring, "Does everything you own come from the boys department?"

"Yes," Jessa found her face heating, but ignored it, "Do you really think a girl could survive on the streets for long without some creep trying to touch her? Boys get left alone, no one second glances them, and that's what I want."

"Well, you're not living on the streets anymore. I'm going to take you shopping and get you some real clothes" With one last disgusted look at the pile of clothes, Tori left, carrying a few books.

When everything was packed, Jessa left the place she had called home for the past few months for good. Kit, Simon's and Derek's dad, was really nice and seemed very welcoming. They were in the car for a while, traveling out of the city and into suburbs, then past the suburbs and into a more country like area.

They ended up stopping at a huge two-story house, with the biggest lawn Jessa had ever seen. A forest surrounded the house on three sides, and Jessa could hear the wildlife within it.

"Whoa," she whispered.

Jessa had to share a room with Chloe, not that either of them minded, of course. And there was tons of food. Jessa hadn't been completely full for almost three years, ever since she had escaped from the lab. Sure they murdered kids, but you can't say that those kids were starved. Mr. Bae was an awesome cook and no one seemed to care that Jessa ate twice as much as they did, probably because they were so used to Derek's eating habits. Jessa watched amazed as the boy put away more food than she did, which was a hard thing to do.

Purple was off talking to Liz, the ghost that was friends with Chloe, and who also happened to have the ability to move objects as well. The last time Jessa had saw them, they were using brooms as swords and fighting each other.

When breakfast was over Jessa went and took a shower, happy to be under the warm water.

Lunch was ready before she knew it and once again she ate all she wanted. She found that she could easily get used to this.

"Okay," Tori walked in with a lap-top in her hands and set it on the kitchen counter top, "I decided we need to try and find your files, Jessa." Derek, Chloe, and Simon all looked at Tori like she was some weird mutated bug.

"I can be smart sometimes," Tori huffed at them, "Now gather 'round. I don't want to have to explain things twice, like we normally have to do. Let's just knock this down with one stone, shall we?"

Once they found Purple and Liz, they all gathered around the laptop. Simon sat in a chair next to Jessa,and smiled at her, causing Purple to make an inappropriate comment, calling him Wonder Boy, his new nickname. Mr. Bae had gone to the store for food after realizing that two werewolves ate more than he thought they would, and Chloe's aunt had been out all morning, so it was just kids present at the moment.

Tori explained how she had acquired information about the Edison Group, a bunch of crazy scientists who conducted a bunch of experiments concerning supernaturals. They had broken into their headquarters a few weeks ago and Tori had downloaded as much info as she could onto a hard drive, "I haven't been through everything yet, so there could be something on you in here. If we want answers about what happened, this is where we're going to find them."

After searching the data for a while, Tori's fingers flying over the keyboard, they found a hit.

The experiment that Jessa had participated in was called the Metamorphous Project.

"Look what it says here," Tori said pointing to a place on the page,

"_Werewolves are extremely useful. They have a strong sense of smell, super strength and amazing vision. If we could just harness these abilities then we would be a force to be reckoned with. Combine those traits with the other powers supernaturals possess then we would be unstoppable. But werewolves refuse to associate themselves with us, so we cannot us them as allies. And we have decided to take this into our own hands. _

"_We have taken some unimportant werewolves- mutts, ones that won't be missed- and have used them to produce massive amounts of offspring. Some of the subjects had their genes mutated as eggs, others as fetuses, and some as babies. We have combined their DNA with the DNA of necromancers, sorcerers, witches, shamans, and the major races of half-demons. Some subjects died during gestation, or were born with disfigurations and died shortly after birth. Once we had enough live test subjects we disposed of the mothers and fathers, we couldn't allow word of what we were doing leak into the werewolf world._

"_What we hope to achieve are supernaturals with the positive traits that werewolves possess. What we hope to avoid is the transformation into a wolf. Though the fighting skills a werewolf has while in his wolf form is quite remarkable, it is also uncontrollable. Once in wolf form they are driven by instinct and turn into bloodthirsty monsters that can't understand what you tell them. We do not want that to happen._

"_We are watching the subjects closely. Any subject that displays any forms of being too wolf-like (territorial, temperamental, aggressive) will be separated from the rest of the subjects and watched in isolation until it is decided if they have failed or not. Any who do fail will be terminated._

"_Hopefully we will achieve what we are hoping for."_

When Tori finished reading out loud, silence filled the room.

Derek broke the silence with an oath, "What they're doing is crazy." He said, "Trying to combine the races of supernaturals like that! It's not possible! You can't take a DNA strand and tell it what characteristics it can and can't have. What they're doing is against the laws of nature."

"But I can see ghosts," Jessa said, looking at him, "Which means that whatever they did, it worked."

"Yeah, but the file also mentioned how they didn't want you guys to Change into wolves." He gave her an angry look, though the anger wasn't directed to her, "That means they messed with that part of your DNA, the genes that cause your body to morph. Who knows what will happen when it comes time for you to Change."

"What do you mean?" Jessa asked, fear gripping her.

"What I mean is anything can happen. You aren't meant to mess with stuff like this." Derek looked at Tori, "See what else you can find."

Tori typed on the keyboard for a few seconds then a new page popped up. It had a long list of numbers going down the right side chronologically, the top of it was headed _Subjects._

"That's us," Purple whispered, "It's all of us."

Tori clicked on Subject #1.

A file popped up. A picture of a distorted baby was displayed at the top, along with a date of birth and a short description that said: _Male, died 3 hours and 26 minutes after birth._

Tori when back to the previous page and clicked on Subject #2. Again a file popped up with a picture of a mutated baby and a death date.

They continued to go through the files, everyone one of them making Jessa's heart ache. It wasn't until Subject #12 that the babies stopped being born mutated.

"Click on that one." Jessa murmured, breaking the heavy silence that had ensued, she was tired of waiting. Tori clicked on Subject #47, the one Jessa had pointed to.

They were greeted with several pictures of Jessa through out her years of growing up. Jessa took control of the computer and scrolled down past the pictures and found what she had wanted most: her birthday. _Date of birth: September 16, 1993. _So she was 16. She had been 16 for months, shoot, she was almost 17! Jessa smiled.

"I want to know mine!" Purple hopped up out of her chair and got closer to the screen.

Jessa went back to the list of subjects and clicked on Subject #35. Pictures of Purple appeared, the most resent being just months before her death. Jessa slowly scrolled down through the pictures, remembering her oldest friend. When she reached the bottom the date of birth said, _June 27, 1993. _

"Ha!" Purple spun on Jessa, "I always told you I was older. Now I have proof."

But Jessa ignored her and instead read on.

_Subject was terminated on July 7, 2008. She showed uncontrollable aggression and a loss in self-control. She was not isolated, she was considered too dangerous with her half-demon powers. It was clear she was a failed experiment. _

Jessa's eyes pricked. They had killed Purple just because she threw a temper tantrum like any normal teenage girl? Who did they think they were to decide who could and couldn't live? Who did they think they were to decide what was normal and what wasn't? Who did they think they were to decide to mess with the genes of babies, and watch them die, thinking it was all for the best?

Jessa had stood up in her anger. She needed to do something. Her vision was red and her skin was flush and all she wanted to do was go punch those stupid scientists faces in. She turned to head out of the kitchen. She didn't know where she was going, but that was something she would figure out later, all that mattered now was the fact that she was taking action.

She felt a hand on her shoulder, stopping her, and looked to find Derek standing beside her. He gave her a look that said, _Stop, breathe, think._ He didn't move his hand, just stood there, waiting. Jessa's first instinct was to push his hand away and storm out anyway. He couldn't control her, and she wouldn't let him. But then she took a deep breath, one of those that caused her to believe her lungs would burst and that effectively cleared her head. She didn't know where these scientists were now. Even if she did she had no way of getting to them. She was being stupid and acting impulsively. She gave Derek a look that said that she was fine now, he nodded and pushed her down into her chair. Jessa sat there, her moment of uncontrollable rage fading, but her anger still stayed.

Derek took control of the computer now. He went up to the search window and typed in, _Subjects Changing_ then pressed 'go'.

A file like the first popped up, written by some scientist. It read

"_We have seen many subjects display the early signs of Changing long before it was their time to do so, the earliest being at five years of age. Upon seeing these sings we quickly removed the infected subjects from the rest of them. In all cases (and it is unfortunate to say that most subjects did become infected), the subjects didn't survive."_

Jessa felt her stomach drop, but continued to read, hoping to find something good in the text.

"_When the subjects Changed it seemed that their genes were battling each other. Their bodies would start to Change a little, and then the Change would be reversed, then it would Change again, followed by a reversal. The process was extremely exhausting on the subjects._

"_All subjects over the age of 7 who were infected made it through the first pre-run Change. But the pre-runs took far longer than they were supposed to. After calculating the data we found that the average first pre-run lasted 4 hours and 23 minutes, it is a large difference compared to a normal werewolves first pre-run time of about an hour. _

"_All subject over the age of 10 made it through the second pre-run Change. An average time of 6 hours and 17 minutes._

"_No subjects survived the third and final pre-run Change. They seemed to just give up and let their exhaustion take them._

"_The final numbers: 56 subjects started the Change, 0 managed to complete it and mature into an adult werewolf."_

Jessa could feel the inevitability crashing down on her. She was going to die. She was going to start to Change, but she would never complete it. The horror of it pressed down on her like a 100 ton lead weight.

**Buh-buh-buh-buh-buuuuuuuuuuuuuummmmm!**

**Thanks for reading! I really apprieciate it! Please leave a review! It makes me feel all loved whenever I see I have a new review. Sounds stupid but I can't help it.**

**Thanks- Cheerfully Blue**


	5. Chapter 5

**It took me a little bit longer to write this chapter than it did the other ones. I've been noticing that each chapter is longer than the previous one, and now I'm afriad I'm making them too long. But before you read, I know that some of you are expecting Jessa and Simon to do something, but I just want to try and slow things down with them. They have this insane connection with each other, that's why they kissed the first time, they're drawn to each other. I don't think I made that clear enough, so I'm telling you about it now. But they still barely know anything about each other (I feel like I've said 'each other' way too much) so that needs to be fixed. **

**Also, I would like to thank one of my best friends Kymber for helping me get my ideas in order. You should all thank her too, she's awesome when it comes to helping you through writer's block. And I hope you're blushing at this Kymber, and if you're not, I bet you are now. :) Anywho, you guys have a story to read now. So, be my guest, read on.**

**Disclaimer: Me no own Darkest Powers.**

Chapter 5: First Fear

Jessa stared at the ceiling of her new bedroom. Normally the thought of actually having a room to call her own, even if she did have to share it with Chloe, would've been enough to make her squirm with joy. But there was no happy dancing going on now. Why? Because she had just found out that she was going to die.

Sure, it wouldn't happen until the third pre-run of her Change, but the knowledge was still there. She was going to die. Maybe no today, or tomorrow, or the day after that, but it was going to happen, one day she would go outside to Change and she would never come back.

"Jessa," Simon was banging on the door again, "Please let me in. I just want to talk to you."

She ignored him and rolled over in her bed, and started staring at a wall.

"Oh, come on." Purple gave Jessa a look of disgust, "There's a cute boy knocking on your door, begging to come in and you're just lying there? What kind of teenager are you?"

"A dying one." Jessa mumbled, her voice dead.

"And I'm already dead. You don't see me moping, do you?" Purple shot back at her.

Jessa shot up in her bed instantly. She just realized what she had been doing. "Purple, I'm sorry. I didn't mean- It's not like-" Purple held up her hand to stop her.

Purple smiled sadly and said, "I know you didn't mean to, but it's okay. I have accepted being dead a long time ago, you know that. And it sucks. I can't grow older, only you and necromancers can see me, and I will never meet the guy of my dreams. But it's something that I have to live with." Purple gave an unhumorous laugh, "The point is I have been making the best of what I have been given. I'm not dwelling in the past, thinking about how unfair everything is, that's just stupid because what happened to me can't be reversed." Purple moved to sit on the bed next to Jessa, and crossed her legs and gave Jessa a side-long look, "Don't think about the future Jessa. Don't dwell in something that hasn't happened yet. For all we know it won't happen, all those kids that Changed, they were younger than you are now. They didn't know what they were and what was going on, and so they just gave up during the Change, too scared to go on."

Purple's eyes got watery, "And Jessa, you're stronger than them. You're stronger than all of us. Of all the kids in that lab, you made it out alive. You're the best of us all. If anyone can survive the crap the scientists did to our DNA, it's going to be you."

Jessa's bottom lip trembled, and she wished that she could hug her best friend. Blinking away tears, Jessa nodded, "I am being stupid, aren't I?"

"Yes, you are." Purple smiled at her, "Now go get Wonder Boy before he does something drastic and stupid."

"On it." Jessa rolled out of the bed, the room swaying a bit since she had been lying down so long, and walked over to the door. When she opened it, Simon was sitting down, back against the doorframe. She shut the door behind her and sat down next to him. They were quiet for a while, both of them staring at the opposite wall.

The smell of Simon washed over her. Jessa closed her eyes and breathed in his scent. In all her lifetime she had never once found anything that even remotely compared to him. She could feel herself calming down, the scent sending warmth throughout her body, causing her to relax. By the time Simon actually spoke, she was fighting sleep.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

Jessa thought about it before answering. She was perfectly okay right now, with his aroma all around her, but she knew what he really wanted to know. Was she okay having just found out that she was going to die? The question made her want to laugh. It was such a rhetorical question. Who, in their right mind, would be okay after finding out that they were going to die? Not this particular werewolf, that's for sure.

So she answered to the best of her ability, "I'm dealing." Because she was. She was going to take Purple's advice and try her best not to mope. Live life while she still had it.

Simon put his arm around her shoulders and she leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder, suddenly realizing that she was freezing and he was just so dang warm.

"I've been talking to Derek," he said, "He's sort of a genius, so he knows a lot of stuff. Anyway, I noticed that all the subjects-"

"Kids," Jessa interrupted him, "They were kids, not subjects."

Simon squeezed her shoulders, "Right. I'm sorry. Guess I've been reading too many of those files. Anyway, I noticed that all the kids that Changed were no older than 14. And the files showed that the older the kids were the more pre-runs they survived. And you're 16, so if you were to start Changing I think you'd make it all the way through."

He looked down at her, trying to see her face with her head on his shoulder, and smiled at her. Jessa didn't smile back. Deep down she knew that what he said wasn't true. It was like her body knew that her age didn't decide whether she made it through the Change or not. She knew that she was going to die during this thing unless she figured out how to survive it, if there even was a way.

Simon saw the troubled look on her face and stopped smiling, "What is it?" he asked.

Jessa didn't want to tell him what she already knew that his theory was wrong, it would just upset him, and she didn't want that. If she was going to enjoy the limited amount of time she had left, she didn't want Simon worrying about her.

"It's nothing," She gave a not-so-fake sad smile, "It's just I miss all the other kids, is all. I mean I grew up with them and they were constantly disappearing. I never actually thought about them dying like that. I mean I knew they were dead, I figured that one out after I left the lab. It's just the way they had to go, during the Change, it has got to be terrifying." Jessa hadn't been thinking about them, but she had looked sad and she had to give Simon a good lie to let him know that she believed his idea could work.

"You knew all of them, didn't you?" Simon asked quietly.

Jessa nodded, not really enjoying the turn the conversation had taken, but then again it was her own brilliant thinking that had changed its course, "I remember them as far back as I can."

"Were you close to them?" he asked.

Jessa shrugged, "To some of them, I suppose. There were so many of us that groups of friends formed. Kinda like school I guess, wouldn't know, never been to school. It was mainly just me and Purple plus a few other friends."

"You've never been to school?" Simon gave her a shocked look.

Jessa laughed, "No I haven't, but I want to. The scientists did teach us the basics: reading, writing, spelling, you know, the works. They also taught us more if we wanted to learn more, kind of like one-on-one tutoring. I learned a lot from them, and they had all the books you could ever want so I read a lot. I'm not stupid, but my education is an interesting one."

"So you've never been to school." Simon looked like he didn't believe her.

"No," She smiled up at him, "What's it like? Are there really bullies who will beat you up if you don't give them your lunch money? What about cranky librarians and preppy girls who will stab you in the back?"

Simon laughed, "I have yet to have a bully ask me for my lunch money. The cranky librarians is a check and so is the preppy backstabbing girls."

"Hmmm…." Jessa heaved a sigh, "Is it really that bad? I always hear kids groaning about it on the street, but is it really that bad."

"Eeh, it can be, but normally it's not too bad."

"What's your favorite color?' Jessa asked suddenly.

"Huh?" Simon looked down at her.

"Just answer the question."

"Green, why?"

"What's your favorite food?"

"Apples. Why?"

"What's your favorite way to waste time?"

"Why?"

"Cause, I barely know you," Jessa replied, "And I want to know you, so answer the question."

"Okay then. I like to draw." He sounded like he decided to answer the question just to amuse her.

"Really? I like to paint, only I don't get to very often."

And then they started talking about drawing and painting. And after that, Simon's childhood, about how he moved a bunch. Then they just started asking each other random questions. And finally they just talked.

Jessa stayed snuggled up against him the whole time, his body heat warming her. She made sure she kept talking, because if she stopped, there was no doubt that she would fall asleep.

They had been sitting there for hours when Kit came up (they were on the second floor of the house) and told them dinner was ready. He knew what they had learned from the files, Jessa had heard Chloe and Derek tell him when he came home from the store. He gave her a smile reserved for cancer patients, one that was so sickingly sweet you knew something was wrong.

Simon sighed, and continued to sit there after his dad left to go back downstairs. Jessa knew what he was thinking. It was so wonderful here, all warm and comfy, and secure. He didn't want to go downstairs and have this ruined, and she didn't want that either.

"I don't want to leave." He murmured in her ear.

"Me neither." She mumbled back.

But then her stomach gave a loud growl, so loud she was sure that the ones downstairs heard it too. She blushed and closed her eyes, praying against hope that Simon wouldn't make a comment and embarrass her more.

He stood up, his heat leaving her, and stuck out his hand, saying, "Come on, lets get you some food."

She let him help her up, letting him pull, afraid that if she tried to pull herself, she would use too much strength and pull Simon over.

Dinner was uneventful; everyone was quiet, as if interrupting the silence meant breaking some unwritten rule. Jessa so desperately wanted people to talk, it would make ignoring the death sentence she had just gotten so much easier. Thankfully, Chloe's Aunt Lauren arrived while they were eating so that broke the all-consuming silence. Jessa was introduced, and it went as all introductions did: quick and uninteresting.

When dinner was over, Jessa made her way up the stairs and to her room. She was beat, having been woken up at 8 that morning, she was suffering from a serious lack of sleep.

She went to the one of the two beds in the room she and Chloe shared and collapsed into its fluffiness. She had enough time to register the fact that her eyes were stinging with the lack of sleep before they closed, and she drifted into unconsciousness.

_Running, she was running. Jessa looked behind her and saw the familiar halls of the Lab. She heard feet racing after her. They were trying to get her. _Have to get out,_ she thought, _I have to find a way out. _She turned right, and ran down the hallway there. Purple had told her the directions she needed to take to get out, and Jessa trusted Purple completely._

_She turned left, and ran down the hall until she came to a set of double doors. Purple was supposed to be there to unlock them, that was the plan. Where was she? Jessa could hear the pounding feet of the people trying to stop her getting closer and closer. _

_She shook the doors, they didn't budge. _Come on, come on, _she thought desperately, _Please. Please open._ The doors wouldn't open, no matter how much of her strength she used, they stayed closed. _

_The footsteps were right behind her now. Jessa spun around, and faced the evil faces of the scientists that had ruined her life. They had red eyes and fangs, drool was dripping down their chins. They had bloodlust in their eyes. They wanted to kill her, she had to get out of here or they would kill her._

_Purple appeared beside her, "Purple, open the door!" Jessa told her desperately._

"_No."_

"_What?" Jessa stared with disbelief at her oldest friend, "Purple, they're going to kill me! Open the door!"_

"_No." Purple just stood there, letting the murdering beasts get closer and closer to Jessa, "Why should I?"_

"_Because I'm your friend! Please, Purple, please!" Jessa turned her back on the monsters and started pounding on the door with as much force as possible._

"_Exactly, I'm your friend, but did you save me? Did you stop them from killing me?" There was venom in her voice, "No, you didn't. So why should I save you?"_

_Tears were running down Jessa's face, "I'm sorry, Purple. I'm so, so sorry. I didn't know. I didn't know! Please, just open the door!"_

"_No."_

_Jessa felt a hand on her shoulder and she screamed, yanking herself away from it. But the hand dug its talons into her shoulder, and she shrieked with pain, feeling blood trickling down her arm. Then there were hands everywhere, talons puncturing her skin, letting blood flow free. The hands were smothering her, suffocating her, taking away her air. She couldn't see anything but the hands with the talons and the glowing red eyes that laughed at her as she slowly faded away. _

Jessa sat up in her bed. Her eyes were wide, her body covered in a sticky cold sweat, her lungs gasping for air. She felt herself shaking, and she wished she could see more than just dark shapes draped in darkness.

She heard Chloe's slow and deep breathing, and the sound comforted her. She wasn't alone, she was alive and she was free of that horrible place she had been trapped in for 13 years. Jessa slowly laid back down, letting herself sink into the pillows.

Purple had saved her, she hadn't abandoned Jessa, she had saved her. Without Purple, Jessa wouldn't be here right now. But Jessa always had the feeling that maybe Purple had wished that Jessa had gone first. That Jessa had died and Purple had been the one to escape. _No, _Jessa thought, _if I had gone first, then Purple wouldn't have been able to see me. She's a half demon, not a necromancer, it would've done us no good if I had been the one to die._

But that didn't keep Jessa from feeling guilty. Purple wasn't with Jessa right then. She always disappeared at night, and Jessa didn't know where she went. She supposed it was the place that ghosts went and humans couldn't, but she never asked. She figured that what Purple did was Purple's business, and if it was important enough to tell her about it, then Purple would.

Jessa tried to fall back to sleep, but it didn't take long to realize that that wasn't going to happen. So she laid there, staring at the ceiling, and she soon found what she did want to do.

Her stomach growling, she made her way down the stairs for a kitchen raid. The fridge light lit up the dark kitchen, and the cold air blasted her awake. Scanning the contents with scrutiny, Jessa's eyes lit upon a big bottle of ranch and a brand new bag of baby carrots. Smiling with glee, Jessa grabbed both and retrieved a bowl. Pouring a huge glob of ranch into the bowl, she dunked in a carrot then bit off a ranch smothered bite.

The snap echoed through the kitchen, but Jessa was sure that everyone else in the house was in a deep sleep, so she didn't worry about waking them up, not that they could even hear her. She munched on her carrots, but she could tell that her hunger wasn't going to be sated quickly, and standing in the dark, eating carrots, doing nothing, didn't sound too appealing.

Then she spotted the laptop that Tori had been using earlier sitting on the counter. Jessa moved to open it up, and found that the stuff they had been looking up earlier was still on the screen, which was a relief because she wasn't good with computers.

Jessa pulled up her own file, wanting to examine it closer. _Current state: Alive. She was scheduled to be terminated, but the subject escaped. We have decided to let her go, due to the data we have collected from the other subjects, we have assumed that she will get her Change early, and in the end, die. She isn't a threat, and if she were, she won't be a threat for long._

Not a threat! Jessa totally felt threatening at the moment. But she took a deep breath and bit vigorously into a carrot, and chewed it with as much anger as she could.

Then Jessa looked up the files of her old friends. There was Brit, the red haired girl that had disappeared when they were 12. According to her file she had started her Change.

There was Coco, the boy who had named himself after his favorite food: chocolate. He had been taken away when they were 11. He had started Changing too.

There was Katsa, she had disappeared at age 10. She had developed powers that were too powerful, having had her witch genes cranked up too much.

Redder, Johnny, Gaga, Pizza, Blue: all of them dead. Jessa felt tears running down her face. The long ago buried memories of them resurfacing, causing her heart to ache. She missed her old friends so much.

"What are you doing up?" Derek's voice rumbled from behind her. Jessa jumped, letting out a tiny 'eep' in the process.

"What the hell! Did giving me a heart attack sound like fun to you?" Jessa glared at him, but the intensity of it was lost in the darkness.

Derek raised his eyebrow, "No, I just figured since you have super hearing you would hear me coming."

Oh. Right. "I was a bit preoccupied with something." Jessa turned away from him, discreetly wiping the tears from her eyes.

Derek grabbed a carrot from the bag Jessa was slowly making her way through and ate it raw, no ranch. There was a loud snap as he bit into it. Derek chewed for a while, looking at the computer screen with a dull interest. When he was done he asked, "Why are you up?"

"Nightmare." Jessa mumbled, not wanting to go any farther into the discussion.

Derek nodded, and took another bit of carrot. "Why are _you _up?" Jessa asked.

"These woke me up." He said, waving the carrot in his hand, "Of all the midnight snacks you could've picked, it had to be the one that sounds like a BB gun."

Jessa smiled and said a half-hearted, "Sorry," Then went back to her computer. She brought up the report on the Changes that the other kids had went through. With no Simon around and the talk Purple had given her a distant memory, the thought of going through the Change now scared Jessa. And the worst part was, she had no idea what happened during the Change. She knew that she would shift, she knew that she wouldn't just pop from one form to another, like they did in movies. But she didn't know _what _happened.

And she so desperately wanted to ask Derek what happened, so desperately. Just so she could feel like she knew more about this thing that had killed so many of her friends, the thing that was supposed to kill her. But the Change was an extremely personal subject; she knew that. It was like a guy asking a girl about her period, it was personal and invasive and uncomfortable to talk about. Plus she had only known this boy for little over a day; that was hardly long enough to ask questions like that.

But she didn't care, she was on the edge of panicking and answers were what she wanted. So Jessa took a deep breath and said, "Derek-"

"You want to know about the Change, don't you?" He looked at her with those piercing green eyes, they looked kind of sad.

Jessa nodded, "Yeah. But only if you want to, I won't make you." She couldn't keep looking in those eyes, so she grabbed a carrot and looked at the counter top.

"I don't care." He said bluntly, then leaned his back against the counter, facing the wall behind her.

Jessa waited for him to say more, but apparently that was her cue to start asking questions.

"What happens? I mean, do you suddenly start shifting or is there a warning or something?" She tried to keep the fear out of her voice.

He was quiet for a few seconds, "You get itchy, really itchy. Your muscles start to spasm and you get a fever. Those are the signs, and then you just sort of know when it's going to happen. Some times they comes a day or two before you Change, but you know when it's time." Derek mumbled the whole thing, and if it weren't for her super hearing, Jessa never would've heard him.

Jessa nodded. Good, there were warning signs, she had always been afraid that it came without warning. "And what happens during the Change."

Pause. "You puke and sweat like crazy." Derek gave a half smile, still staring at the wall, "I wouldn't recommend wearing clothes, either, you'll just pop out of them. Your body contorts and spasms and your muscles and bones shift and Change. You sprout fur and your skin moves like there's something underneath it. It's not a pretty sight."

Spasms, contorting, muscles and bones shifting, Jessa felt her stomach clenching in fear. And so she asked the question she wanted to know most, even though she already knew the answer, "Does it hurt?"

Derek was silent for a long time, a really long time, and when he answered, his voice was low and even, "It's like nothing you have ever felt before. It's agony from the moment it starts, and just when you think it can't get any more painful, when you think it has to end, it gets worse."

Jessa swallowed. Her palms had gone sweating and she was having trouble controlling her breathing. "How long did yours normally last?" she asked, even though she already knew the answer to that one too.

"About an hour. All three of them lasted about an hour, but it didn't time it." Derek murmured.

"And do you think you could handle four hours of it." Jessa could hear the barely controlled panic in her voice.

Derek turned his head to look at her, his eyes completely vulnerable. She could already predict his answer, the look on his face said it all, and there was a rushing in her ears as she listened to what he said, "I was wishing for death during the time I was Changing. It's pure agony, and it's scary, and it's just hard to handle. I would rather die than go through four hours of that, let alone more." Derek was a big kid, and tough. You didn't have to know him long to figure out that it took a lot to faze him, Jessa could tell. But apparently the Change had. It had went up against this mountain of a guy and caused him to beg for death.

Derek, the big bag wolf, would rather die than go through what she was going to have to endure. Jessa saw the room sway around her.

**Well, that's chapter 5 for you. Let me know what you think. Is something confusing? Is something stupid? Have an insanely cool idea but are afraid to let me know about it because you think I might think it's stupid and tell you it's stupid and make you feel really really bad? Just let me know. And as for the insanely cool idea thing, I would be pleased to get some. I have a general idea about where my story is going, but some new ideas are always useful and can make it better. But respond quickly. I am writing as you read this sentence. Ha-Ha! Did that creep you out? (Sorry, it's really late, and I'm not good with really late.) So I'm going to end this author's note here because some sleep sounds really good right about now.**

**Review!**

**Thanks- Cheerfully Blue**


	6. Chapter 6

**Greetings my faithful readers! I'm in a very good mood today because tomorrows is the last day of school. You know what that means? Once gradution is over I will offically be a sophomore! Being a freshman wasn't too bad, but a sophomore is much better. Anyway I want to thank all of you who have reviewed! It makes feel all happy when I read a new review. And one thing that inspires me to write the most is a lot of reviews. **

**By the way, all of you need to check out the fanfic Can You Feel It Too? By readme2023. It's one of my bestest friends story. And if you love Chloe and Derek, then you will love her stuff. I promise.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Darkest Powers series, but if I ever talk Kelley Armstrong into giving it to me, I will let you know.**

Chapter 6: First Laugh

Jessa felt Derek's hand on her shoulder, and she soon realized that he was the only reason she hadn't fallen off of the barstool she was sitting on. She put her hands on the countertop, and took deep breaths, trying to clear the dizziness from her head. With a groan she crossed her arms on the counter and rested her head on top of them.

She could feel Derek beside her, could feel the indecision radiating off of him. Then she heard the quiet scrape of the barstools legs against the wooden floor, and the almost inaudible groan of protest the stool gave as he sat down on it. He sat next to her, shifting his body, and Jessa could tell he was debating something inside his head.

After a long period of silence, Derek heaved a huge sigh and said, "You want to know how I made it through the Change?"

Jessa turned her head so that one of her bright green eyes was looking at him. He had his head turned away from her, like he was embarrassed by what he was about to say.

"How?" She asked quietly, her voice dead, making her sound like she no longer cared; which she didn't, she was going to die no matter what Derek told her.

"Chloe." The one word was filled with so much love, so much kindness and feeling, that Jessa felt tears in her eyes.

"What do you mean?" She felt stupid asking it, but she just didn't understand.

"When I went through my first pre-run, Chloe found me. She had no idea about what I was and we had only known each other for a few days. She saw what I was going through, saw me Changing and in pain, and her being the idiot that she is, stayed and tried to help me." Jessa heard Derek laugh at the memory, "It felt good to have her there, it felt _really_ good. And she was there the other two times." He paused, his head still facing away from Jessa, "Having her there gave me something to focus on, something real to distract my mind from all the pain.

"She did the simplest things: talking, rubbing my back, just sitting there. Just those stupid things helped. I needed her there. After having her there the first time, I couldn't imagine going through it without her." He voice sounded kind of dazed, like he was lost in memories.

"You love her, don't you?" Jessa said it like a statement.

Derek flinched. Whether it was from Jessa talking so suddenly, or what she said, she wasn't sure. But he nodded slowly, "Yes," He gasped the word out, sounding like a dying man. Jessa smiled. It felt good to know that even though she wasn't human, even though she Changed into a wolf, it didn't mean that she would be exiled into loneliness. Here was another werewolf who had found love, and that meant that she could find it too.

Derek cleared his throat loudly, uncomfortably, "What I'm trying to say is: you need someone like Chloe to help you through your Change. Maybe that will save you." It was insanely obvious he meant Simon. He wanted her to have Simon help her through her Change. It sounded simple enough, until you brought in the factor that she would be contorting and yelling in pain and looking like a creature straight out of a horror film. She didn't want Simon to see her like that.

Derek's voice interrupted her thoughts, "But you might not Change for a long time, so don't worry about it."

"All the other kids Changed early," Jessa reasoned, "If I haven't Changed yet, how do we know that the scientists didn't get what they were hoping for: A werewolf that can't Change? How do we even know that I _can_ Change?"

Derek finally turned to face her, "Because, you can't do that." His voice and his mouth was hard, "Our cells are meant to Change, you can't mess with something like that. The scientists tried, and look at what happened, they had kids Changing at age five. They were stupid. You are a werewolf, so you are going to Change, no matter what scientists did to you, you're body is going to try and turn into a wolf."

"But the others Changed earlier than they were supposed to, so how do we know that I'm going to die during my Change?" Jessa asked.

"We don't know." Derek said roughly, "Maybe the scientists used you as a sort of control for the experiment, meaning they didn't mess with your DNA as much. Maybe your DNA destroyed the mutations they did and you'll Change around the age normal werewolves do, with no more than the usual problems. Maybe the mutations had a harder time targeting your DNA and it's taking longer for them to take effect. There are thousands of different maybe's that I could give you, but one thing is for sure: you are going to Change."

Jessa heaved a sigh, this totally sucked! Now Derek was telling her that there was a possibility that her body had fought off the damage the scientists had done to her genes and she was in no danger of dying. But at the same time he was telling her that she could Change tomorrow and be dead within a week. She totally didn't need this.

They sat there for a long time, each of them lost in their own thoughts.

It surprised Jessa when her mouth opened up wide for a yawn. It was then that she realized just how tried she was, having gotten only a few hours of sleep, and a questionable sleep at that. She blinked her eyes repeatedly, trying to make them realize that they weren't tired, but they were. She really didn't want to go back up stairs, because that meant going back to sleep, which meant she would only have more nightmares. But her eyes told her she was fighting a losing battle, and she decided to give in the moment Derek opened his mouth and rumbled, "I'm going back to bed."

"I was thinking the same thing." Jessa smiled tiredly at him.

She hopped off her barstool, grabbed the bottle of ranch and bag of carrots and deposited both of them in the fridge, noticing that together her and Derek had significantly depleted the contents of both. Shutting the fridge, she turned to grab the bowl, but found that Derek had already put it in the sink. She closed the laptop and was surprised to find that the kitchen didn't even look disturbed.

Sighing, she slowly made her way up the stairs, Derek right behind her. The boy's room and the room that Jessa and Chloe shared were in the same hallway, only a single door separated them. Jessa paused outside her door, her fear of going back to sleep returning.

Derek was right behind her, and he waited for her to enter her room so he could continue on to his. But she couldn't move, and she knew it meant she was weak, that she could let a room scare her; and she could only imagine what Derek was thinking of her right now.

"Nightmares?" Derek asked gently.

Jessa nodded.

"Sucks, doesn't it?" Derek said

That caused Jessa to laugh shakily, thinking this was the oddest conversation to have at like, 2 in the morning, especially with Derek of all people.

"Especially when it's full of vampire scientists and a dead end." Jessa said.

Derek chuckled, the sound so foreign in Jessa's ears, "Wait until you have big fluffy bunnies after you, vampire scientists won't sound too bad then." Jessa laughed full out at that one.

"Thanks," She told Derek rather hesitantly. He grunted and watched as she went into her room. Jessa shut the door with a tired sigh, and blinked, trying to make out the solid objects in the darkness so she could move without knocking anything over.

"Where were you?" Chloe's sleepy voice asked from across the room, causing Jessa to yelp and stub her toe on a dresser she had been trying to avoid.

"Downstairs, in the kitchen. Nightmare." Jessa murmured, hands outstretched in front of her, trying to find her bed, smiling in triumph when she did.

"I heard you laughing. Were you with someone?" Chloe asked.

"Yeah, Derek came down after I woke him up by accident. I forgot that he had werewolf hearing and could hear me from downstairs. I don't think he cared too much, seeing at how hard he attacked those carrots." Jessa shifted around on her bed, getting her feet under the covers, adjusting the fluffy pillows, sighing with happiness.

"Really?" Chloe's voice changed. Jessa looked to her left, trying to see her face, but there was no moon out tonight, so it was unbelievably dark in their room.

"You okay?" Jessa asked her, noticing the change in Chloe's voice.

"Yeah." But it wasn't very convincing.

Jessa waited for her to say more, but she didn't and Jessa was insanely tired so she rolled over in her bed, and with a murmured, "Night." She was asleep.

Happily, no nightmares plagued her dreams.

* * *

Even though Jessa hated waking up before noon with a passion, the smell of pancakes wafting up to her from the kitchen was enough to get her out of bed. Stomach rumbling, Jessa got dressed, slipping an old gray hoodie over her head and a pair of her baggy jeans over the basketball shorts she had worn to bed. Running a brush through her long black hair, Jessa looked in the mirror and declared herself presentable.

Chloe stirred in her bed, shifting her head away from the bright sunlight coming through the open blinds on the window.

"Breakfast is almost ready." Jessa told her, and Chloe replied with a groan.

She smiled and headed out their door, her stomach telling her to hurry up and get down there while the food was still hot. Entering the kitchen, Jessa nearly burst into tears at the sights and smells that awaited her. Fluffy pancakes, steaming sausage, and bright yellow eggs, together they formed a powerful aroma that caused her stomach to weep with joy. Having had barely enough to eat for the past couple years, this was a breakfast she only dreamed of.

"You can go ahead and start eating if you want." Kit looked over his shoulder at her from where he was still cooking away at the stove.

Jessa selected a juicy looking sausage link from a pile of them and ate it. She moved up behind Kit, "Need any help?" she asked, watching as he tried to scramble eggs, flip pancakes, and keep the sausage from burning all at the same time. He was surprisingly good at it.

"That would be a huge relief." Kit gave an airy laugh, obviously glad that he didn't have to do all the work alone, "Can you take care of the eggs?"

Jessa nodded, and started stirring the yellow liquid around in the pan. When they were all fluffy and cooked she took the pan and tipped them onto the plate that was already holding a batch that Kit had cooked earlier.

"Need me to make anymore?" She asked Kit, holding the pan in the air.

"Hmmm…." He frowned, trying to estimate how much people wanted eggs, "How hungry are you?"

"Hungry." Jessa said, listening as her stomach growled, though there was no way Kit could hear it over all the sizzling going on over at the stove.

"In that case Derek is going to be even hungrier. Go ahead and cook another half dozen." Jessa nodded and did what he asked.

By the time the cooking was done, everyone was downstairs, despite how much they would have loved sleeping in later.

"Okay," Aunt Lauren (everyone called her that, even Simon and Derek, which Jessa though was beyond weird, but whatever) said, while she was cutting up a piece of pancake on her plate, "Tori informed me that you girls want me to take you to the mall today."

Tori smiled smugly, Jessa choked on some egg, and Chloe gave Tori and Aunt Lauren a startled look.

"_What_?" Jessa asked, at the same time Purple squealed with delight, causing her and Chloe to wince.

"I have decided," Tori began in an oh-so-knowing voice, "That your sense of fashion, Jessa, is tragically challenged and a trip to the mall will do you some good."

Jessa looked down at her hoodie and jeans, 'tragically challenged'? They looked just fine; there was nothing wrong with what she was wearing.

Tori, who seemed to know what was going through Jessa's head, said, "Those clothes make you look like a boy." Jessa felt her face redden, and ignored the others telling Tori to shut up, she didn't want anyone defending her.

"Forgive me, but 'these clothes' have kept me in one piece for the past two years. And I have been more worried about staying out of the hands of creepers than wondering if my hair looked good or if I had a tan or not." Jessa sooooo wanted to cuss her out, but she figured that Kit and Aunt Lauren wouldn't approve of that.

Tori wrinkled up her nose in frustration, "Well, news flash! You're not living on the streets anymore!"

Jessa narrowed her eyes at her, and she opened her mouth to retort, but was cut off by Aunt Lauren, "So I was thinking we would leave around 11 and eat lunch at the mall. I will leave you girls to go off by yourselves so I don't get in your way. And then come home when we have everything we need." Aunt Lauren gave both Jessa and Tori a pointed look that said _Stop!_

Tori huffed, but still smiled, knowing that she had won, anyway.

Breakfast continued with easy chatter, but the whole time Jessa's head was filled with, _I have to go to the fucking mall!_

_

* * *

_

The noise was what hit her first. Jessa could hear the loud chatter from the mall while they were still in the parking lot. She could her the roar of the crowd and already she could feel a headache coming on. It was worse when she got inside the actual building. The voices and sounds pounded her ears, filling her head with useless noise.

Then when she was walking past a bright pink store, the smell hit her. The perfumes were swirling all around her, then the colognes, and it felt like she was suffocating, like the fumes were going to close her air pipes. Tori and Chloe were walking beside her, looking at the stores they were passing, not noticing the thick air. God, it was awful. Did Derek know about this? He must have. Why didn't he warn her to bring earplugs and a gas mask? That jerk.

And the worst part was, thanks to the noise and the smell, her nose and ears were completely useless. It's not like she expected someone to come and jump her and the others, but she would like to know anyway. She couldn't hear anyone clearly farther than 15 feet away, not if they were just talking at a normal level. And her nose was completely useless, unable to pick anything up other than the horrible fragrances that every store seemed to carry.

Tori immediately towed Jessa to some store full of clothes Jessa would never even consider wearing and shuffled her into a dressing room. And then came endless hours of trying stuff on, Tori trying to get Jessa to try on the skankiest things imaginable, while Chloe came to Jessa's help and managed, to the best of her ability, to control Tori.

Kit and Aunt Lauren had given them all some money, but Tori and Chloe swore that they didn't want anything, and added theirs to Jessa's.

"Dang, girl." Tori said from the other side of yet another dressing room door, "How much cleavage do you have hidden under those baggy sweatshirts?" Jessa's face flushed with embarrassment and anger as she handed a too small bra back to her under the door.

_Why don't you just buy the size you're already wearing Jessa? That's the smart thing to do, that way you don't have to put up with Tori. _Well, she would have done that, had she known her bra size; but she didn't because in order to hide her boobs and to make herself look more boyish, she had taken to wearing sports bras and baggy clothes. So now she was stuck trying to figure it out her size with Chloe, Tori, and Purple, and none of them seemed to be good at it.

"Here," Chloe's soft voice said from the other side, "Try this one." Jessa gratefully took it and slipped it on. Turning this way and that in the mirror, she smiled.

"And we have a match!" Purple cheered, standing right next to Jessa, "Look who has boobs!" Purple started snickering at Jessa and her, suddenly, rather large chest.

Chloe told Tori that it fit and Tori said, "Okay, now Jessa, you take that off and change back into your clothes and I will go get all the bras you could ever need!" Jessa heard her skip off happily.

"Oh, God." Jessa muttered, quickly unhooking the bra and getting her clothes back on. It took her not even two minutes to do that and when Chloe, her, and Purple walked out of the dressing room Tori was standing there with her arms full of bras, beaming like a lunatic.

"Tori…. Uhhhh." Even Chloe seemed speechless, "Do you really think all of those are necessary?"

Tori gave all her a stricken look, "Of _course_ all of these are necessary!"

"When would I use this?" Jessa asked, fingering some black lacy thing that looked like it would barely keep her in.

"I don't know, whenever you and Simon take things a little too far." Tori said, shrugging.

"Ex_cuse _me!" Jessa's voice went up higher in pitch as Purple doubled over, laughing hysterically.

"Oh, please, we all know you and Simon have the hots for each other." Tori rolled her eyes, "I'm just making sure you're prepared when the time comes, just use protection."

Jessa was beyond speechless.

"Oh, come on, Jessa," Purple laughed, "It would look good on you!" Then she broke out into giggles again.

She turned to Chloe for help.

"Tori, I really don't think we have enough money for all of those." Chloe, of course, took the diplomatic way to let her down.

Tori frowned, and she deflated visibly. Jessa kind of felt sorry for her, but then she took one more look at that stupid lacy black thing, and lost all sympathy. Chloe took the bras out of Tori's arms and sorted through them. She handed six of them to Jessa, "Here, you shouldn't need more than these."

Jessa nodded her thanks and watched as Tori perked up again, "Jeans!" She squealed, and ran out of the bra department, Purple right on her tail

Jessa rolled her eyes and her and Chloe shared a laugh before chasing them down again.

She refused to get any skinny jeans. They looked extremely uncomfortable, and Jessa had rather hippy hips and that made putting them on extremely difficult, more difficult than putting on a pair of jeans needed to be. And even though Jessa would never admit it, she kind of enjoyed the shopping. Sure, Tori kept trying to get her to wear scary things, but Jessa and Chloe had fun reining her in. Purple was always quick to comment, or shove stuff into Jessa's face, which caused more than a few raised eyebrows. And then there were the times when all of them were just laughing and having fun.

By the time all the shopping was done Jessa was smiling and laughing and feeling better than she had in a long time, all worries forgotten for the moment. Tori shuffled them all into one of the bathrooms then into the biggest stall, "Now, we need you to change."

"What?" Jessa asked.

"Well, I didn't just spend the past five hours shopping to just go home and have nothing to show for it!" Tori started rifling through bags.

Jessa was having a pick your battles moment, and wondered if changing into the clothes she had just bought was such a big deal. She sighed, and let Tori do her thing.

Tori started tearing off price tags with her teeth, and chucking them at Chloe, who held them while Jessa put them on. She didn't mind the other girls watching her dress, she had grown up with roommates, but she drew the line and made them turn around as she put her new bra on.

"Is that a six pack?" Tori asked, swooping in closer to Jessa ( who had just given the all-clear), trying to get a better look.

"No," Jessa mumbled, trying to turn away from her, holding her hand out to Chloe for her shirt.

"Suck your stomach in." Tori ordered, and Jessa did as she asked, "There! Right there! It's a six pack!"

"Only when I suck it in." Jessa pulled her new black shirt over her head, and then started readjusting the fabric.

"So! I'm no where near a six pack, sucked in gut or not." Tori pouted, "So unfair! You don't even try to show it off!"

Jessa ignored her and tried to get comfortable in the tight shirt. It wasn't super tight, but she had been wearing baggy clothes for a long time now, and this was a huge change. She felt like she was showing way too much, like a protection shield had been taken away from her, and now she was vulnerable.

Still it was a cute. The black shirt had a v-neck that didn't go down too far (Jessa refused to get cleavage showing shirts) and a weird geometric pattern on it.

"Beautiful." Chloe murmured.

"Gorgeous." Tori beamed.

"Oooooooh! Wonder Boy's gonna love this!" Purple smiled suggestively at Jessa.

**Review! Let me know what you thing and give me any ideas that you have, I'm more than happy to hear them! (Or is it read them? *shrugs* I don't know. Who cares?)**

**Thanks- Cheerfully Blue**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey everyone! I am now offically on summer break, but it still doesn't feel like school is over. I'm going to be very busy this summer so I don't know if I will have much time to write. But you shouldn't be worried because I know I have said this before and I have still found time, I'm just warning you. I hope you all enjoy this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: Due to some extreme lack of awesomeness and horrible grammar skills I am sorry to say that I do not own the Darkest Powers series. (But if I ever get my hands on it I will be sure to let you know.)**

Chapter 7: First Glimpse

Jessa fidgeted the entire car ride home, unable to feel comfortable in her new clothes and worried about what the others would think, mainly Simon.

"Stop squirming." Purple told her impatiently, "You look fine."

Jessa sighed, leaning her head on the backseat window, blocking out the conversation Tori and Chloe were having and the horrible music Aunt Lauren was playing over the radio. It was surprisingly wasy to fall asleep.k

She woke up with a start when Tori shook her shoulder, "Wakey, Wakey! Time to go stun some guys!"

Jessa groaned, wishing she could just fall back to sleep, trying to ignore her stomach clenching in fear at the thought of letting the boys see her.

"C'mon, Jessa!" Purple threw a paper cup at her.

"Hey!" Jessa glared at her, made even angrier by the way Purple was beaming.

"Come _on_!" Purple hit her with the cup again, "Let's _go_! I want to see Wonder Boy's reaction!" She then preceded to repeatedly pelt her with the cup until Jessa got out of the car with a groan.

Purple skipped up the sidewalk happily, with Jessa following beside her, nowhere near a happy skipping mood. _Deep breaths, deep breaths_, she thought to herself, _It's just a guy, it's just a guy, a normal human being. Well, not a normal human, a sorcerer with a werewolf for a brother, but other than that he's a normal human. Breathe, breathe. You're being stupid! He's just a guy and you're just a girl who happens to be wearing some new clothes she had just bought- Oh my _God!_ This bra is _killing_ me!- Focus! One step, two step, you're almost there. Act normal, you can't show fear, don't show fear, you will look weak. You can't be weak, can't be weak. Don't be weak!_

Jessa entered the door right behind Tori and Chloe, trying her best not to be weak. And the worst part was: The boys weren't there. She wasn't really sure what she expected, but in her head, she imagined they would be waiting right by the door to see her. Jessa breathed a sigh of relief, glad to be disapointed, and made towards the stairs, hoping to hide out in her room and avoid the inevitable a little longer.

But that didn't go as planned, because on her way up the stairs Tori shouted Jessa's name at the top of her lungs, which caused the boys to come charging out of their room. Simon and Derek both stopped suddenly, eyes wide, mouths open. Jessa felt her face heat up, and stopped climbing the stairs.

Derek was the first to move. He blinked quickly and shook his head, then mumbled, "Food is probably almost done." And made his quick get-away down the stairs.

That left her and Simon alone. He stared at her, and she stared at the step she was standing on, unsure about what to do.

"Move, idiot!" Purple appeared and hissed in her ear, then disappeared just as fast as she had come.

Taking a huge gulp of air, Jessa finished walking up the rest of the flight of stairs. Simon cleared his throat and said, "You look good."

"Thanks." Jessa gave a weak smile and walked past him into her room. He followed.

She went over to the dresser and brushed her hair, mainly because it gave her something to do. In the mirror she looked calm, composed, beautiful. But on the inside she was a screaming nervous wreck. Why had she led him in here? Was she an idiot? Of course she was! She closed her eyes and set the brush down, but didn't move away from the dresser.

She heard him approach, heard his clothes brush against itself, his feet move across the floor, his breath right behind her.

She felt his hand gently take her left wrist, rubbing it soothingly, calming her, telling her to relax. And she did. His smell, oh _God, _his smell. Jessa couldn't imagine anything better. Eyes still closed, she leaned back into him, her head going to his shoulder, breathing him in. His arms went around her, spreading his warmth to her.

He didn't kiss her right away. For a while they both stood in their embrace. But Simon turned her around in his arms and hesitantly kissed her, his lips brushing hers, asking if it was okay. She answered by kissing him. It was a gentle kiss, slow and warm and wonderful, and any nervousness Jessa had felt before was now gone. She let herself be enveloped by Simon, his scent, his smell, his touch, his taste, she let all her fears slip away and focused only on him.

Jessa was the one who broke the kiss. She pulled back, and Simon looked at her, his lips wet, his eyes a little dazed. She smiled at how adorable he looked, his hair a bit tousled, his skin flushed, and it was just so cute.

"Hi." She said, unable to think of anything else to say.

Simon laughed and squeezed her, "Hey."

"So, how has your day been?"

"Good. Worked on some of my comics, and then some of my spells." Simon smiled, "Then I got to kiss this beautiful girl. Diffidently the highlight of my day."

"Should I be jealous of this girl?" Jessa asked.

"Oh, extremely. She has the prettiest eyes I have ever seen and smile that is to die for."

Jessa blushed furiously, loving what Simon was saying, "Well, that's good. If you must know I got to kiss someone, too."

"And who might this be?" Simon asked.

"Oh, just some boy."

"Should I be jealous?"

"Nope," Jessa put her head on his shoulder, "You smell much better than he ever will."

Simon laughed, "Thanks?" He replied, not sure what he thought about her compliment.

"Your welcome." She said into his shoulder.

Then she heard footsteps coming up the stairs and Kit calling from the kitchen, "Lauren, get Simon and Jessa, food's ready."

Jessa grabbed Simon and pulled him out of her room and into the hallway.

"And so I prefer pancakes over waffles because waffles have those dents in them, and that holds the syrup, which makes them all soggy and I don't like soggy waffles." Jessa said casually as Aunt Lauren mounted the stairs, and entered the hallway the were standing in, "But don't get me wrong, I have nothing against waffles, it's just pancakes don't get soggy. Unless you drench them in syrup, which in that case you're asking for them to get soggy."

Jessa turned and looked at Lauren, "Which do you like better?" She asked.

Lauren frowned, and said, "I don't know. But dinner's ready, you need to come eat."

"Okay." And Jessa watched as Aunt Lauren went back down the steps.

"Soggy waffles?" Simon raised an eyebrow at her.

Jessa elbowed him, but nowhere near hard enough to hurt him, "Shut up. Do you really think that she wouldn't find it odd that we were both standing in the hallway doing nothing? I just said the first thing I thought of."

He laughed, took her hand, and pulled her towards the stairs, "Come on, food's waiting. And I know how werewolves are with their food."

* * *

Jessa woke up that night from the same nightmare as before. Sighing she rolled out of her bed and went out into the hallway. She made her way slowly down the stairs, and paused when she heard the quiet breathing of someone in the kitchen. She listened closer and heard the shuffling of a pair of feet. She breathed in deeply, and caught the scent of Derek.

His back was to her when she pushed open the swinging door the led into the kitchen. Then a sharp scent hit her nose: Sweat.

Derek was sitting on the barstool she had occupied the night before. Jessa moved to the opposite side of the counter, facing him. And that was when she saw that his eyes were bloodshot and his face was sticky with sweat.

"Hey, are you okay?" She asked, panicked that something was seriously wrong with him.

He jumped, like he just noticed she was there. He blinked a few times, trying to get his eyes to focus on her. Then he nodded.

"Are you sure? You don't look too good. Are you sick or something?" Jessa wasn't really sure what to do, she had never been sick before, nor had she ever taken care of someone who was sick. What if he was dying! Oh God, Chloe would kill her if she didn't do something about it.

"I'm fine. I'm just going to Change soon." Derek rumbled, somewhat unwillingly, like he wanted her to drop it.

"Now!" Jessa yelped, "Don't you need to go outside or something?" She looked around her, Changing in a kitchen did not feel right to her. No, he needed to go outside.

"No, not now." He said, letting the _you idiot _part speak for itself, "Tomorrow night."

"Oh." Jessa relaxed a bit, and put her elbows on the counter. That was once crisis adverted.

She stayed there, letting her mind drift off, far away from the kitchen she stood in now. She wasn't hungry, so she wasn't sure why she came down to the kitchen, but it felt good to just stand there, to get away from that dreaded room where the nightmares haunted her. She wasn't sure how long she was there, having lost track of time while in her thoughts, but eventually they were interrupted by Derek saying, "I think you should come with me when I Change."

"_What?" _Jessa's voice went up an octave.

"I want you to know what happens." He was refusing to look her in the eyes, "I think it would be easier if you knew what to expect."

Jessa thought about it, it did kind of make sense. She had no idea what happened other than what Derek had already told her, but that wasn't a lot. And even though she knew it was going to be insanely weird and awkward, she couldn't help her _need _to know what was going to happen to her.

"Okay?" Her answer came out as a question, like she still wasn't sure she wanted to go.

Derek grunted and stood, heading for the door.

"Does Chloe know?" She asked quickly.

Derek paused, "Chloe won't care." He voice completely sure.

"But does she _know?"_ Jessa put emphasis on the word.

"No, but she won't care. Chloe knows it's something important."

Jessa remembered how Chloe's voice had sounded odd last night when Jessa had said she had been with Derek.

"You need to ask her, Derek." Jessa told him firmly.

"She won't care!" Derek seemed to be missing the point.

"That doesn't matter, just ask her. Believe me, ask her." Then Jessa brushed past him, and went back to her room.

* * *

The next day was totally uneventful. Nothing happened, literally. Purple and Liz were nowhere to be seen, but that didn't bother Jessa, they had been spending a lot of time together. Tori was being Tori, and bossing people around, though Jessa was starting to warm up to her, once she realized she wasn't so bad. Chloe was fretting all day because Derek was going to Change that night (he had asked her, and she didn't mind, but Jessa knew she was glad he'd asked), even though it wasn't really a big deal according to Simon.

And Simon was busy with lessons from his father, so that left Jessa trying to find something to do, waiting for nighttime. She soon found Tori's stash of books (Hidden in some abandoned room) and discovered that her and the witch shared the same taste in literature. And that was how she spent most of her day, curled up reading on the couch.

It was late when Derek shuffled out of his room, pausing to give her door a light knock. Jessa hadn't fallen asleep, and gave him a quiet "Coming" before getting out of bed. She dressed quickly and quietly, trying not to wake up Chloe who had finally fallen asleep about a half hour ago. She dressed in her old clothes, sensing that it was cold outside, and that her big hoodies were needed.

Derek was waiting for her in the back yard. Together they walked into the woods that surrounded the house. She listened to the wildlife all around her. There was an owl flying overhead, and some rabbits and mice scurrying through the undergrowth. She listened the trees moving in the slight breeze, and she listen to Derek.

He was restless, Jessa could tell. Scratching his arms and ruffling his hair, like he couldn't hold still, like he needed to move faster, but he didn't pick up speed.

They didn't speak, just kept walking in the dark forest, barely lit by the crescent moon above them. They entered a clearing, one that Derek probably used often. She looked away as Derek pulled his clothes off, leaving only his boxers on. She glanced at him, and wasn't at all surprised to see that he was insanely muscular; she knew he would be. But her face still heated up, because Derek was right in front of her, almost completely naked, and she had never seen that much of a guy before. She was really glad Chloe had agreed to this or Jessa would be feeling really guilty right abput now.

She forced herself to notice the muscles on his arms and back. They were moving, not like he was flexing them, they were moving like snakes underneath his skin. He muscles were spasming, a warning sign of the Changing.

Derek got down on all fours, his breathing having gone heavy. Jessa wondered if she should approach him, and do what he said Chloe had done. She shoved the idea away, she wasn't Chloe and she wasn't going to try and take her place, and she knew that Derek wouldn't want her to.

She watched him wondering what would happen next. Then his back shot up, his spine pressing up against his skin showing every joint. Derek gave a strangled cry, which he quickly quieted. His skin convulsed and his body shook. She could hear, actually _hear, _his bones moving around. It was like a quiet grating sound, a sound you would expect two crackers would make if you rubbed them together. It sent shudders down through her body and creeped her out to no end.

Sweat dripped off of him, and he continued to contort and to cut off yells of pain. Jessa desperately wanted to do something, anything, to help him because she knew he was in pain and it just looked like it hurt so much. But she didn't because Derek wouldn't want that. Maybe it was a werewolf thing. Maybe it was something in their genes that said don't show weakness to other werewolves. But whatever it was, Jessa knew that if she went over and tried to help Derek in anyway, it would mean he was weak, and it would embarrass him. Maybe it was stupid, but that stopped her from moving.

It was over in 15 minutes. Derek was a very big, very muscular, black wolf, standing just yards away from her. Her first thought was to ask if he was okay, even though it was obvious he was just fine, seeing how he was walking around. But she stopped herself, because it would remind him for a moment of how he was weak and vulnerable.

She instead she moved and found a comfy looking tree, sat and leaned against it. Derek soon came and sat beside her, his green eyes peaking to look at her. She didn't say anything, just thinking about what she had seen, her first glimpse at the Change. It wasn't the contortions that bothered her, the way his body distorted, those she really didn't care about; it was when Derek yelled out in pain. She would have to go through four hours of it, four hours, and that was probably a minimum!

"So that's what's waiting for me, huh?" She asked, not looking him.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw him jerk his head in a weird version of a nod.

"Looks like fun, can't wait." Her was voice full of sarcasm.

Derek gave his version of a laugh, it sounded somewhere in between a deep rumble and a snort, and was positively the funniest thing she had heard in a long while. Jessa burst out laughing, which earned her a glare.

Once her of laughter ended, Jessa sighed.

"What's it like being a wolf?" She asked, which was stupid since he couldn't really answer. He gave her a look, then sighed and stood. He stretched for a moment, and then he took of running. He was so fast Jessa barely saw him leave the clearing, then she listened as he ran father away from her. It was amazing how quietly he ran, in seconds he was so far away and making so little noise that she couldn't even hear him anymore.

She sat there, listening for him to return, knowing he would try to scare her because it would be hilarious for him. She had a four second warning. She heard his padded feet running over the soil right behind her, going faster than she ever believed possible. She jumped to her feet and turned to face him. He breached the clearing, heading straight for her, but when her saw standing there, he tried to stop.

He was going too fast, his feet fumbled but he still ran right into her. Jessa's legs slid out from under her, and she fell over Derek. She laughed, she laughed so hard, lying in a pile on the ground tangled up with Derek. She heard his rumble-snort laugh, and laughed even harder, her abs were aching and tears were forming in her eyes.

She untangled from Derek, gasping for breath, and laid on the ground, looking up at the stars. He laid down too, his tongue lolling and eyes the happiest she had ever seen them.

"So I'm going to guess running is fun." Jessa said to the sky, and heard Derek snort a laugh.

They laid there, Jessa drifting off more than once, until it was time for Derek to Change back. Jessa watched him until he got too close to his human form for her to feel comfortable with, and when that happened she walked a little ways out of the clearing and waited for him to get dressed.

"So how often do you have to Change?" She asked him on their trip back to the house.

"About once a week, it depends." Derek's face was flushed and his eyes were bright, all of it from being a wolf. And he seemed more open now, like something in him changed, and Jessa wondered how long it would last before he would close off again, because he seemed to like answering her questions now more than he normally did.

"Can you control it? The Change, I mean. Can you just tell yourself to Change and you Change?" She asked.

"No, I haven't be able to do that, but I think if I practice enough I could." He sighed, running his hand through his hair, "Stress and fear causes you to Change. If you get stressed enough or scared enough you Change. I had it happen once." He shuddered at the memory and Jessa could only imagine what could make him stressed enough or scared enough to cause him to Change, because it was Derek, the hardest person she knew. Whatever it was, it must've been bad.

"How fast do you think you were going?" Jessa asked, changing the subject.

Derek flashed her a happy smile and said, "I have no idea, but it was fast."

They both stopped to munch on some food when they reached the house. When Jessa finished her apple she turned and went out the kitchen door, softly calling, "Good night," behind her, which Derek didn't return because there was food in his mouth.

When she was in bed she laid there, knowing she was going to be insanely tired in the morning, but still she didn't fall right to sleep.

So the Change was really ugly and extremely painful, but once she got through it she was going to be a wolf. She saw how happy Derek was, how much he enjoyed his other form, and it made her envious. For once she actually thought she might make it through the Change. She allowed herself to think past the dreaded transformation that haunted her normally and to consider what it would be like to actually be a wolf.

She daydreamed about running through the forest, trees blurring by her, her feet hitting the ground with almost no sound at all. She wondered what color her fur would be, she supposed black, since that was the color of her hair, but she wondered if it would be the same pitch black as Derek's or not. And then she imagined what it would be like to be shorter than normal, and what having four legs would feel like, and if her vision would really be in only black and white.

And when she fell asleep, she hardly noticed, because her dreams were filled her running and running, a wolf flying, enjoying itself with no other care in the world.

**So? Did you like it? You all know I love reviews! Please let me know what you think, and if you have any questions I will try my best to answer. And I promise, Jessa's first Change is coming up soon.**

**Thanks-Cheerfully Blue**


	8. Chapter 8

**Thank you to all of you who reviewed! You're the ones who keep me going. So this chapter is dedicated to all who have reviewed, I really appreciate it.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Darkest Powers series. And yes, I realize it totally just bums out your day, it bums mine too.**

Chapter 8: First Sign

Days passed in no time.

Jessa spent most of her time reading and even convinced Aunt Lauren to drive her down to the public library, and when Tori found out about that she just had to come along too. No one was enrolled in school, mainly because where they were staying was only temporary. Kit told her that they were trying to keep as low a profile as possible; so going to school was out of the question.

But no school meant extremely bored teenagers. Chloe starting teaching Jessa everything she knew about necromancy, which, unfortunately, wasn't much. Jessa soon found out that Chloe was waaaaaaay more powerful than she was, and she wasn't even jealous because Jessa could tell that Chloe's power was also a curse.

But since Chloe was super powerful, she didn't need to know all the stuff needed for summoning and whatever else necromancers wanted to do, because she could already do it without even trying. So that meant that Jessa didn't learn much from Chloe, but that didn't matter to her because at the moment she was more focused on her werewolf issues.

The night with Derek was extremely helpful for her. It made her realize just how cool being a werewolf was and that it wasn't a curse, not really. She felt like maybe she could beat the thing that had killed so many of her friends. The fear that once gripped her every time her mind wondered towards the Change was gone and replaced by curiosity. She wasn't sure if Derek knew how much he had helped her, but she sure appreciated it.

Jessa soon found that being cooped up inside for days at a time sent her nerves reeling with restlessness. Before she had left the lab she had never been outside before. She had never seen the sky, or the moon, or the sun, or grass, or cars, or trees, or at least not in person. She had seen them in pictures and on videos the scientists allowed them to watch. And when she broke out she was completely over-whelmed. The noise gave her headaches for weeks; all the scents caused her nose to be useless. She wouldn't go anywhere near a city and cars scared the crap out of her.

For months she was a nervous wreck, but slowly she became accustom to it. And she started visiting the cities, then she moved into the cities. And once she was used to the cities she started working odd jobs, doing whatever it took to earn money. Well, no _whatever _it took, because she did have morals, and she would starve before giving up her morals.

She cleaned houses, she babysat, she helped people move, she worked at stores. She only stole in the beginning, when she was still scared of everything around her, and later when she first moved into the city and needed new clothes. She took showers at the places she snuck into, ranging from schools to fitness gyms.

But ever since the day she had escaped the lab she had spent part of her time outside, even if it was only in the city. But since coming here she found that since she had no need to be outside, she didn't go. And on her fifth day at the house her nerves were all jumbled up and screaming at her to get outdoors, not enjoying being cooped up, reminding her of the memories of the lab. So she went outside.

The forest was different during the day than at night. Birds were calling to each other, filling the air with their voices. The sunlight made everything glow, casting pattern-like shadows on the ground. She was amazed at the amount of wild life so early in the spring. Was New York normally this lively? She didn't know, but she loved it.

It seemed to go forever, and Jessa wondered just how big it was. There weren't any houses around theirs, not for miles and miles, so she needn't worry about someone seeing her. She walked all over, finding creeks and stopping often to check out something that looked weird.

She soon spent a part of every day out in the forest, loving being surrounded by the plant life. Sometimes Simon went with her and sometimes Chloe and once she even went with Tori. She liked being alone the most, but she enjoyed their company too, enjoyed talking to them and feeling accepted. She never went into the forest with Derek, and she wasn't sure why. She often scented trails of him winding through the trees, but never followed them, assuming he liked his moments alone out there just as much as she did.

Her and Simon had made an unspoken agreement to slow things down. They talked a lot, a LOT, and yeah, they kissed every once in a while, but generally they kept it slow. Jessa found out a lot of stuff about him, like the fact that Simon was diabetic. And as soon as she figured that out she talked to Chloe and found out what being diabetic meant, it didn't seem polite to ask Simon.

Before she knew it she had been there for three weeks. It amazed her how much time could fly when you really had nothing to worry about.

* * *

That night Kit announced that he was taking them all to the movies and then eating dinner afterwards.

"We have all been in this house far too long, and I think a night out will help everyone."

Chloe was extremely pleased at that announcement, being some sort of movie fanatic, and immediately knew what she wanted to see.

They all got ready, Tori coming into Chloe's and Jessa's room to supervise what they were going to wear.

"It's just a movie, Tori." Jessa said exasperated, as Tori had Jessa undress yet again, "They won't even see us!"

"It still matters!" Tori continued to look through Jessa stock of clothes, "Here, try this on."

It was a pair of jeans, a simple blue shirt with a dark purple jacket. Jessa sighed and tried it on, really not enjoying the whole dress-up doll feel.

"Perfect!" Tori beamed once Jessa had it on, Chloe nodded in agreement.

Jessa went over to the dresser and brushed her hair. Her black hair reached past her shoulders a few inches and shined in the of the rooom.

"You're not leaving your hair like that, are you?" Tori asked from behind her shoulder. Jessa suppressed a groan, something told her she wasn't.

15 minutes later Tori was beaming with joy, and Purple was squealing at Jessa's newly done hair. And Jessa had to admit that it _was_ beautiful. Tori had taken a curler (which was burning hot and scared the crap out of Jessa. Why would anyone want something that hot that close to their head?) and had loosely curled the top layer of her hair.

"Wow," Chloe said dreamily from the doorway of Tori's room (Tori had refused to move her 'styling equipment' into their room).

"Thank you, Tori, I love it." Jessa said, still staring at her hair.

"And that's why you guys keep me around." Tori laid the curler back on her dresser, "Now hold still, we still have make-up to do."

The make-up scared Jessa just as much as the curler. Every time Tori got close to Jessa's eyes she would flinch, thinking her eyes were about to be poked out. The final result: a beautiful smoky-like affect that brought out Jessa's bright cat-green eyes.

"You look amazing." Chloe said quietly from Tori's bed.

"Thanks." Jessa blushed, and had to agree. She had never felt this beautiful before, and she kind of liked it.

"Now, we have to choose _my_ outfit." Tori threw open her closet door.

When that job was done they fixed Tori and Chloe's hair and make-up, Jessa watching, since she had no experience with either field. When everything was finished all three girls looked stunning, and Jessa was kind of sad that they were only going to see a movie and eat out, it felt like they were meant to do so much more.

She was worried what Simon would think. Would he think she tried too hard to please him? Would he think it was pathetic? Oh, God, she was so nervous.

Tori, Jessa, and Chloe all went down the stairs at the same time, and Jessa kind of felt like they going to the ball or something important, like the girls in the old fashioned fairytales.

Chloe was the first to reach the bottom step, and Derek, standing close by, beamed the biggest smile she had ever seen appear on his face. He approached her and picked her up in a hug, her feet leaving the ground. Chloe giggled and his lips met hers. Jessa looked away, feeling like looking was intruding on something private. She was just _really_ glad that Kit and Aunt Lauren were no where in sight.

"Oh, get a room." Tori muttered as she reached the bottom of the stairs, followed by Jessa.

Simon was leaning against the wall. He smiled when he saw Jessa, and she blushed and smiled back. He walked around Derek and Chloe, who were still in each other's arms, and came towards her. He wrapped his arms around her waist gently, and kissed her softly in the lips.

"You look beautiful." He murmured against her lips. Jessa's stomach flipped with joy, and melted in his arms, enjoying the kiss as much as she could. It didn't last long, but it was sweet and warm and made her feel so much better about how she looked.

The ride to the movie theatre was interesting. They had to drive the mini-van since the only other car they had was, well, a car, and they couldn't fit into that. Derek and Chloe were sitting very close to each other in the very backseat, trying to cuddle without being obvious about it. Kit was driving and Aunt Lauren was sitting shotgun. That left Tori, Simon, and Jessa to cram into the middle seat, which was just about as fun as it sounds.

"Jessa, you're sitting on my hand!" Tori snapped.

"Then move it." Was it really that hard?

"Why should I move? You're the one sitting on it!" Tori gave Jessa this weird look, a look Jessa didn't understand.

"And you're the one complaining!" Jessa shot back at her.

"Just scoot _over_!" And Tori pushed up against Jessa, pushing her closer Simon. Who the hell did Tori think she- Oooooo…. Now Jessa understood. She took Tori's lead and shifted closer to Simon, and now her whole left side was pressed up against him. Would he think this was weird? Would he mind if she was this close to him? She was stressing out way too much. She gave him a hesitant smile. He gave her a warm smile back, twining his fingers together with hers.

She was stressing for no reason.

They all sat in the same row when they reached the movie theatre. Chloe sat in Jessa's right, and Simon on her left, his knee touching hers as Chloe explained what the movie was supposed to be about.

"The whole plot is pretty basic. The normal falling in love and saving the damsel in distress. But this director is a hero in the business. He can turn the most ordinary plots into something amazing. Plus the screenwriter is well known. I think it will be pretty good." Chloe chattered on and on, and Jessa just nodded, not really understanding what she was saying.

It was a relief when the lights finally dimmed and Chloe stopped talking to focus all her attention on the pre-views.

Jessa really had a hard time paying attention during the movie. People all around them were shifting and whispering, and she heard everything. A couple in the very last row of the theatre were making out and they were not heeding the signs telling everyone to stay quiet. Then there was that horribly strong popcorn smell filling the room. Combine that with the booming volume of the movie and you have the perfect recipe for a headache.

At some point she looked over Chloe's head and caught Derek's eye. She raised an eyebrow? _Are you getting a headache? _He shrugged, glanced over Jessa's head, making sure Kit and Aunt Lauren were watching the movie, then wrapped his arm around Chloe's shoulder, and she snuggled closer to him. Thus saying, _Yeah, but I can live with it._ Jessa rolled her eyes at him and tried to focus on the movie.

Simon's knee touched hers the entire time. And once Jessa realized that trying to watch the movie was impossible, she moved her attention onto Simon. She really wanted more than just his knee touching her, and debated taking his hand, but would that seem desperate? She knew that she had been thinking the same thing earlier while she was getting ready, that he would think she was trying too hard, and seem pathetic. She knew she was stressing out for no reason, knew that he liked her and wouldn't even think she was pathetic. But she couldn't help it. She blamed it on her screwed up childhood.

She sighed quietly and scratched her arm.

The movie was over 1 hour and 17 minutes later. 1 hour and 17 minutes of Jessa's life wasted. 1 hour and 17 minutes she spent stressing over whether or not she should take Simon's hand, which was solved 23 minutes before the movie ended, when he took hers. It was nice, his thumb making slow circles on her skin, causing goose bumps to rise all across her body. Then she spent the last 21 minutes wondering if her palms were sweaty.

Jessa was stressed out by the time they had left the theatre and were loading into the cars, just wanting to go home. As they waited for Derek and Chloe to get situated in their seat Jessa absently scratched her back.

They went to eat at some burger place, and Jessa got this huge burger that even made her eyes widen. Add a double order of fries and you have one happy werewolf. Jessa had no problem eating that much in front of Chloe, Derek, Simon, Tori, Kit, and Aunt Lauren, they were used to it and knew that she burned calories like a furnace in Alaska during the dead of winter. But the waiter shot Jessa a surprised look when she ordered, and so did the waitress who brought the food, and then the people who were sitting at the table next to theirs.

Derek got just as much food as she had, but did people shoot him weird glances? No. Talk about sexist.

"Maybe you shouldn't eat all of that." Derek said quietly, so quiet you needed werewolf ears to pick it up.

Jessa glanced down at her food, having already made it through half of it, she was more than certain that she could finish it all. But she knew girls did not eat this much, especially skinny ones like her. With a sigh she ate a little more then stopped staring longingly at the food she wasn't allowed to finish. But she could always take it home! She smiled, knowing exactly what her midnight snack would be tonight.

Simon held her hand on the car ride home.

"Did you like the movie?" Simon asked her, his voice barely above a whisper, his mouth right next to her ear.

Jessa smiled to herself, "I had trouble paying attention."

Simon frowned at her, not understanding, but Jessa didn't want to elaborate, so she just laid her head on his shoulder. Simon released her hand and snaked an arm around her waist, engulfing her in his warmth. His hand rested on her stomach, and he tickled her for a few seconds until she hit him playfully, and he accepted defeat and stopped. She snuggled close to him, not really caring what Kit and Aunt Lauren thought, they could deal. Simon rested his cheek on her forehead, and Jessa breathed a peaceful sigh. This just felt so right and wonderful.

The adults called it bedtime when they got home. Aunt Lauren didn't leave any of them alone together until they all reached their assigned bedrooms, making sure that nothing more than quick kisses were exchanged.

Jessa changed her clothes while Chloe was in the bathroom. She was so happy, so filled with joy she forced herself not to squeal like a little girl. Where was Purple at, she needed to dish all the juicy stuff to her.

When Purple didn't appear, Jessa shrugged and decided it would have to wait until morning. Making sure Chloe was still out of the room Jessa jumped up and down excitedly, then collapsed on the bed her breath heavy. She could still feel Simon's arm around her waist and his breath against her ear. She could feel his knee pressed against hers and every other time he had touched her that night. Her stomach flipped happily and she forced herself to calm down, taking deep breathes. Still, she was unable keep from beaming like a lunatic.

She scratched her arm, wondering why it was so itchy, remembering all the times she had scratched it during the night. Then a weird sensation ran through her forearm, kind of like a twitch, only it was different. Worried Jessa looked down at it and froze with fear.

The skin of her arm was writhing, like snakes were moving underneath it. Her muscles were spasming.

Her chest went cold and her happy mood vanished so fast it was like it was never there. She just stared as her arm continued to spasm then stop. And even after it stopped she stared, not wanting to believe it.

Itchy skin, muscle spasms; they were warning signs. They were warning signs of the Change. Oh, God. She was going to Change. She was going to Change soon.

**So! Do you like it? Are you mad that I left it cliffy? Let me know what you think by reviewing. All you have to do is click the little button below. Go ahead, click it. I dare ya.**

**Thanks- Cheerfully Blue**


	9. Chapter 9

**Here's the chapter you have all been waiting for! I really hope I got this right. Don't get mad at me at what happens, I'm trying to stay true to Jessa's character.**

**Disclaimer: I still don't own the Darkest Powers, just ask Kelley Armstrong, I'm sure she'll be more than happy to set you straight.**

Chapter 9: First Change

Jessa didn't sleep that night, nor did she go downstairs to indulge in her midnight snack. She didn't tell Chloe when she came back into their bedroom. She really didn't know why, Chloe would want to know.

As Jessa laid in her bed, staring at the ceiling, she told herself that she needed to accept the fact that she was going to Change before she went and told someone else. Plus, they had all had a wonderful night, and finding out that Jessa was going to Change would ruin it all. She didn't want that.

She wouldn't tell them, not yet, it could wait for the morning. So she spent the entire night trying to push away the fear that plagued her, trying to get some rest. It was in the wee hours of the morning that she was feed up with it all. She just wanted some sleep, just a little bit of sleep was all she wanted.

But she couldn't dislodge the rock solid fear that had made its way into her stomach. She couldn't keep her thoughts from wondering back to the files on the laptop. All she could see were the faces of her friends the words _Died during the Change_ kept floating around in her head. She couldn't find the peace she had felt ever since the night Derek had taken her out into the woods, there was only fear. Tears escaped her weary eyes; she didn't want this!

All through the night her muscles spasmed and her whole body itched to no end. And when the sun finally started to peek its way over the horizon, brightening the room, Jessa was exhausted. No longer able to endure the losing battle with sleep, she rolled out of bed.

She approached the mirror and sighed with defeat. She looked awful. There were dark circles under her eyes and her arms and shoulders were covered in red lines where she had scratched them so hard. She changed into some clean sweatpants and slipped on one of her oversized hoodies, it just felt like one of those days.

Once she brushed her hair and made an effort of not looking tired, she looked a lot better. She didn't want anyone to worry about her, that wasn't needed; she wasn't worth the worry.

When she went down to eat, there was only one comment about her appearance, and it was Chloe asking if she was okay. Which Jessa replied by saying she was tired, which she was. Jessa kept telling herself she didn't want anyone to worry about her, didn't want to ruin the happy vibe that was coming so strongly from everyone from the night before. That's why she didn't tell anyone. Not yet, anyway.

She didn't see Simon much that day, he was having lessons again, which she was happy for. She felt really guilty for not telling him, because she knew she should. She wanted him to be there, just like Chloe was there for Derek. But she really didn't want Simon to see her like that. Flashes of Derek's Change kept running through her mind. What if he was disgusted and never wanted to see her again?

But deep down she knew that wasn't what really bothered her. What really stopped her from telling him was the possibility of him refusing. What if she asked and he said no? What if the only reason he did say yes was, not because he wanted to, but because he felt like he had to? She couldn't put Simon in that situation, and she wasn't sure if she really wanted to know his choice.

But she had to tell _someone_. She had to tell someone soon. Her body screamed _tonight!_ to her. It was telling her that it was going to happen tonight. To Jessa that felt much too soon, but she couldn't control it, she had no decision in it. She felt like her own body, her own safe haven, was betraying her.

She was wondering around the house sometime after lunch with Tori's i-pod blasting in her ears. The music drowned out all the other noises that filled the house, leaving Jessa alone in her head with only her own thoughts to be concerned about.

She took a deep breath; she was going to tell. She was going to tell someone. But who? Chloe. She was going to tell Chloe first because she was the nicest one in the house, and because she would understand if Jessa cried a few tears. And Jessa was more than sure that Chloe would be willing to tell the others for her, because Jessa wasn't sure she could do it herself. Switching directions she made her way to her and Chloe's room, remembering seeing her head that way less than an hour ago.

Jessa knew she would have to take the headphones out of her ears when she talked to Chloe, but for now she kept them in, happily blocking the sounds out from around her. She turned the knob to their room and opened the door. And what she saw would forever be burned in her brain.

Derek and Chloe were lying on the bed in the middle of an extremely heated make-out session. Derek's shirt was lying on the floor and his hands were under Chloe's top. Chloe was on top of Derek's chest, Derek lying on the bed beneath her. Jessa gasped and both of them jumped.

Apologizing, Jessa ran from the room, yanking out the cursed headphones that had kept her ears from warning her to stay away. She didn't want to deal with the awkwardness by staying around, so she made her way out of the house and into the forest.

Once there, she knew she couldn't tell anyone about her Change. She had already worked up the courage once, and look at what had happened. Tears slipped down her face as Jessa started to run through the trees, ignoring her itchy back and arms. She was going to have to go through it alone.

* * *

She could barely handle dinner that night. Everyone was so happy and Jessa played along with them, pretending to be happy, while inside she felt like she was betraying them all. She kept from scratching her arms as much as possible, but at times she would forget and scratch anyways, and when she caught herself she prayed no one noticed.

She went to bed early that night, unable to face anyone. And when Chloe came in later she asked Jessa if she was okay, but Jessa pretended to be asleep.

When she was more than sure that everyone in the house was asleep Jessa climbed out off her bed.

She was so restless. Her eyes had trouble focusing and her skin was covered with sweat. Her body felt unbelievably hot, like it had taken an unexpected trip to the sun and had forgotten tell her. She called to Purple quietly. She knew her friend wasn't around, but Jessa was so scared, she had to tell someone, had to have someone come with her.

Surprisingly, Purple appeared in front of her.

"Hey," Purple gave Jessa a once over, "You don't look too good. What's going on?"

Jessa ignored her a grabbed a t-shirt she had snuck from the laundry room earlier, and Tori's i-pod. The t-shirt was Derek's. Even though she was going out in the woods alone, she did not feel comfortable about getting naked for her Change, nor was she ready to try and Change with all her clothes on only to pop out of them. Derek's t-shirt was huge on her, so she figured she wouldn't do it any damage. And if she did, well, she would worry about that later.

She had Tori's i-pod with her because it had a stopwatch on it. Jessa needed to know, needed so desperately to know how long her Change would take. If it lasted a little over an hour, well that was normal for a werewolf and she needn't worry about anything. But if it lasted longer… well, she would worry about that later, too.

Right now her first priority was to get out in the forest. She motioned Purple to follow her, and made her way quietly down the stairs and out the backdoor. Once outside, she ran. Through the forest she went, trying to remember her way to a clearing she had found earlier in the day.

Jessa stopped, having arrived to said clearing. It was far away from the house, she made sure of that, that way Derek wouldn't hear her screams, and she was certain she would be screaming.

"What the hell is going on?" Purple got close to Jessa's face, but Jessa moved away and started to take her clothes off.

"Okay, you have officially gone crazy." Purple concluded, "If you're going to be stripping for anyone in the middle of the night, you're gonna want to get Simon, not me."

Jessa put her jeans and shirt next to her shoes and socks, then unhooked her bra and laid that with them too. She saw sweat running down her skin, saw her muscles moving. It was coming, she needed to hurry up.

"Hold on." Purple's face was shocked, "Are you Changing?"

Jessa nodded, unable to talk because she was starting to pant. Keeping her panties on, Jessa slipped Derek's shirt on over her head.

"And you didn't tell anyone!" Purple's voice was angry.

Jessa started the timer on Tori's i-pod and laid it with her clothes.

"No." Jessa answered. Then she let instinct take over. Something told her to get on her hands and knees, so she did.

"I'll go back to the house and get Chloe." Purple said hurriedly, "You need someone with you."

Jessa's shook her head, opening her mouth to say something, and Purple stayed, waiting for what Jessa had to say. But Jessa never got her words out. At that moment her back shot up and pain erupted all through out her body. Jessa cried out, and Purple came closer to her. She was saying something but Jessa couldn't really hear what through all her screams.

Inside, Jessa knew she should have told someone. But it was too late now.

* * *

**Simon's POV**

Simon woke to the sound of muffled voices. It was still night, and he recognized the voices as Derek and Chloe. Right away his face flushed, wondering if they were together doing something they shouldn't be. But once his head pushed away some of the fog sleep had brought, he heard Chloe say,

"I don't know! I just woke up and her bed was empty. I checked the kitchen and the bathroom and all the other rooms. She's not in the house."

Jessa. They were talking about Jessa. Panic shot through him.

Simon sat up and looked at them. Derek was getting out of his bed and Chloe was in her pajamas looking worried. Both turned to look at him.

"She's gone?" Simon asked, his voice sounding weird from sleep.

"She's not in her bed." Chloe stated.

"I'll look for her." Derek rumbled, pulling on a shirt and jeans.

Simon hopped out of his bed saying, "I'm coming." And started to get dressed as well.

"Me too." Chloe gave them both a hard look, daring them to object, before running to her own room to change.

Simon slipped on some jeans. Where was Jessa? Did she leave? _Would _she leave? No, he thought, she couldn't leave them; she couldn't leave _him. _Or at least he hoped not. She must have been kidnapped. Fear coursed through him, and he hurried to put on a shirt

Once Chloe joined back up with them, they left the room. Derek picked up Jessa's most recent trial and led them down the stairs, through the kitchen, and out the back door.

"Do you think she was taken?" Chloe voiced Simon's worries.

Derek frowned and answered, "I don't know. I think the scent heads to the woods, we better get jackets." Simon grabbed one quickly and went out the door with the others.

Derek led them through the woods, breathing huge gulps of the fridged air through his nose, following Jessa's scent.

Simon was worried the whole time. What if the Edison Group gotten her? What if the people from her old lab wanted her back, wanted to test her again? Simon wasn't sure what he would do if something happened to Jessa, but he really didn't want to think about it. Maybe she just felt the need to wonder the forest at night or something.

Derek stopped suddenly, causing Chloe to run right into him. Simon watched Derek's face, and noticed he wasn't sniffing the air anymore. Instead he had his head tilted to one side, and a frown on his face as he tried to identify what he was hearing.

"What is it?" Chloe whispered

Derek waved her to stop talking and continued to listen. Simon saw comprehension flood Derek's face in one fluid movement, Derek swore loudly.

"What?" Simon asked, readying a spell, getting ready to attack.

Derek waved at him to stop, "No one's attacking us." He said as he started to move through the forest faster, "It's Jessa, she's Changing."

Relief and fear filled Simon at the same time. Relief at knowing that Jessa hadn't run away or been kidnapped. But fear because she was Changing. She could die from it; she could die because some stupid scientists messed with her genes. If Simon ever found the ones who did it to her, he would be sure to punch them in the face.

Then hurt filled him. Why hadn't Jessa told any of them that she was about to Change? Why hadn't she told _him? _Didn't she trust him? Simon, he… well, he liked her a whole lot, maybe even loved her. All he knew was that he had never felt this strongly about anyone before. When he looked at her his chest over-flowed with feelings, something that had never hapened before. It was like the moment he first saw her, he knew he was hooked, and nothing would change that.

But why hadn't she told him? Didn't she like him too? Or was she just playing with him. No, he had seen the way she looked at him, and he knew that she liked him, liked him a lot. But that still didn't explain how he was finding out about her Change this way.

Simon followed Derek through the forest, he had picked up speed, so now Chloe and Simon were jogging along behind him. Soon Simon could hear piercing cries of pain echoing through the trees. _Jessa_. His heart squeezed each time another one filled the forest. They sped up even more.

Simon knew they were getting closer. When they were probably only a few yards away Derek motioned they to stop.

"Chloe, make sure she's… decent." Derek told her.

Chloe nodded and walked the last bit of space between them and Jessa. Simon paced.

"She's fine." Chloe called, followed by a cry of pain that caused Simon to run.

When he burst through the bushes and into the clearing Chloe was standing in, he stopped.

Jessa was lying on her side, her legs and arms splayed in front of her, like she had been on her hands and knees and had fallen sideways. Her dark hair covered her face and a huge black shirt that definitely didn't belong to her, covered her body down to mid-thigh.

She was panting, her whole body moving each time she drew a breath. Sweat was streaming down her arms and legs, plastering the shirt to her body. Her skin was moving and hair was sprouting all over, and as soon as it appeared, it was gone. Her who body jerked suddenly and she screamed in pain.

Simon ran towards her, not really sure what to do. He knelt down and put his hand on her shoulder and started to rub it. He could feel muscles moving around underneath his hand.

He heard Derek swear loudly, "What is she doing! She's supposed to be on her hands and knees!" Derek started to approach him and Jessa, but Chloe stopped him.

"Purple's here." She said, looking at something Simon couldn't see. Jessa gave another cry, and Simon bent his head quickly and whispered in her ear,

"It's okay, Jessa." He murmured, "It's going to be okay. We're here, don't worry, you're not alone."

He continued to rub her shoulder, while he listened to what Chloe said, "Purple said Jessa collapsed about an hour ago. Says she just sort of fell. Jessa's arms and legs had been shaking real badly and she keeled over."

"How long has she been out here?" Derek asked.

An object Simon recognized as Tori's i-pod floated over towards Derek. One look at it and Derek's eyes widened.

"Purple said Jessa wanted to know how long it took for her to Change, so she used Tori's i-pod as a stopwatch." Chloe communicated, then looked at the little device in Derek's hand and her face paled.

"How long has she been out her?" Simon asked, his gut telling him a really long time.

"3 hours and 57 minutes." Simon could feel the blood drain from his face. Could feel a stake of pure fear pierce his heart. She had been going through this for almost four hours. He knew what that meant, he knew exactly what that meant. She could die, she could die from this thing.

_Oh, God. Please don't die!_

He saw one of Jessa's bright green eyes looking up at him, peeking through her curtain of hair. They were scared, they were full of fear and pain. He quickly hid the fear from his face, he had to be strong, had to help Jessa through this. He might be scared, but only because he was afraid of losing her, but it was Jessa who was experiencing all the pain. It was Jessa who could lose her life, and she needed someone to help her through it.

"It's okay." Simon said, "It's going to be okay." And he could see it, he could see some of the fear evaporate from her eyes. Then her body jerked underneath his hand and her eyes rolled, Jessa yelled wordlessy. Simon tightened his grip on her shoulder, ignoring the dark hair that rose on her arms, ignoring the way his stomach clenched painfully as he watched Jessa scream.

Then her whole body relaxed, and the muscles under his hand stopped moving. _It's over_. he thought, _it's over_.

"It's not over." Derek said. He was watching a few feet away from them, his arms wrapped around Chloe, comforting her and shielding her from the cold, "Her body's resting, it will start up again."

Jessa continued to pant, the one green eye he could see through her hair looking right into his. Simon lifted his hand and started to brush the hair that covered Jessa's face, away.

"Don't do that!" Derek's hand was stopping his in an instant. His dark green eyes bore into his, "You don't want to see that, and she doesn't want you to either."

Simon stared at his brother for a moment, then nodded. He put his hand back on Jessa's shoulder, and continued to rub it, her skin was fever hot, burning through the shirt she was wearing.

"Everything's going to be okay." Simon murmured, knowing Jessa could hear him. Out of the corner of his eye his saw Chloe and Derek back up a few more feet, not wanting to intrude on them, leaving them to go through it on their own. They stopped and sat next to a tree a few yards away.

As minutes passed Simon felt Jessa's breathing slow, could hear it becoming less harsh. She was gaining energy, according to Derek, and she was going to continue again as soon as she got enough.

Then he felt the muscles under his hand bunch up, could feel them about to start moving again. Jessa whimpered; she could feel it too.

Then her body jerked suddenly, and Simon heard a sickening _crack! _Jessa howled in pain, her voice not even sounding fully human anymore. But Simon was right there, murmuring in her ear, rubbing her shoulder and her back. She just needed to know that she wasn't alone, that everything was going to be all right, and that's what he told her.

In his head all he could think was _Don't die, don't die, please don't die. _And his chest hurt every time another cry broke its way past Jessa's lips; it hurt so much because he couldn't take the pain away from her.

"You're doing great." he brushed some of her sweaty hair off the back of her neck, rubbing the skin there. Jessa was resting again, her muscles not shifting at the moment. "Just keep going, everything will be fine."

"Simon." She whispered, her voice so weak it made his heart hurt. He squeezed her arm, "Don't leave." She whispered, her eyes pleading him to stay.

"I'm not going to leave." He told her firmly, "I'm staying right here. I'm staying here with you." He rubbed her shoulders. Then she cried out and the Change continued.

Simon wasn't really sure how long he was there. Long enough for his legs to start to hurt then fall asleep. Jessa was getting worse. Her breath was coming out in gasps, sweat was coming off her everywhere, and her body had to rest every few minutes now in order to keep the Change going.

_Don't die, don't die!_

Derek approached, them. Him and Chloe had been watching from a distance. He knelt and looked Jessa over for a moment. "You're almost done." Derek told her, "You'll start to Change back soon."

Simon gave a sigh of relief, "How do you know?" He asked.

"I just do." Derek said, then stood and walked back over to Chloe.

"It's going to end soon." Simon murmured, happily "You've gotten this far, you can make it the rest of the way."

He saw Jessa's eyes change, could see them harden with determination. She still screamed and yelled, but Simon helped her through it, so grateful that it was almost over with.

Simon could tell when the Change started to reverse itself. He saw Jessa's eyes water with relief, it was only for a second, because she started screaming again right after that, but he could tell it was going to end soon.

When it was over Jessa lay there gasping. Her whole body was shaking, but not from the cold night air. Simon smiled in relief, so glad that it was over, so glad that he wouldn't to hear her screaming in pain any longer, knowing he couldn't do anything to stop it. After letting her breath turn from gasps to puffs, Simon brushed Jessa's hair away from her face. It was sticky with sweat but he didn't care. He bent and kissed her temple.

"It's over." He murmured.

Jessa gave a weak smile, and looked at him, her eyes full of something that made his chest ache in the most wonderful way. She opened her mouth, "Thank you." She whispered weakly, her voice full of emotion.

He kissed her lips lightly.

He saw Derek approaching them, Chloe tucked under his arm, her body shivering. Simon wasn't cold at all, probably because Jessa's body radiated heat, keeping him warm.

"We need to get Jessa back inside before she falls asleep." Derek said, "If she sleeps her body temperature will drop and she's covered in sweat, that will make her even colder."

Simon nodded and helped Jessa sit up. She leaned against him for a moment, her breath still rather rough, before he helped her to stand up all the way. He felt Jessa put most of her weight on him, unable to stand on her own. He draped one of her arms over his shoulder and wrapped one of his arms firmly around her waist.

"Jessa," Derek stood in front of them. Jessa lifted her head and took a moment to focus her eyes on him, "You're going to have to walk. I could carry you, but you would fall asleep, and it's too cold for that."

Jessa nodded her head slowly, and Simon noticed she was struggling to keep her eyes open.

"All we have to do is make it back inside." Simon murmured to her, "Then you can sleep for a week."

He saw her lips pull up in a smile.

They all started walking. Chloe carried Tori's i-pod and Jessa's discarded clothes. They didn't re-dress Jessa because there was no way she could do it herself, and because she was covered in sweat and putting the clothes on would take more time than was needed. She was still burning with fever and the huge shirt she was wearing was still intact, so she was fine.

Simon guided Jessa through the forest, helping her. He kept her from falling when she stumbled and supported her weight. He could tell she was exhausted, he could see it in her eyes; could see it as she started to become clumsier and clumsier. She was fighting sleep the entire trip back to the house.

When they finally reached the backyard, Simon breathed another sigh of relief. Jessa, who eyes were closed during yet another too long blink, didn't notice and just moved her feet as Simon pulled her forward.

He led her straight to the couch as soon as they walked through the door. She fell onto it with an exhausted sigh and she was asleep in just seconds.

**Sooooooo? Is it what you guys wanted? Are you satisfied? Have any suggestions about something? Did you like how I switched it to Simon's point of view? Shold I switch it again in the future? Please review and let me know what you think about it. Just click the button below. Come on, click it, click it, click it... please?**

**Thanks- Cheerfully Blue**


	10. Chapter 10

**Sorry it took so long to post this chapter. I will admit that there isn't very much action in this one, but I figured Jessa could use a break. I really hope you like it.**

**By the way, there's a new Darkest Powers website called _darkest powers. com _(ignore the spaces in the website, it's all one word. My computer wouldn't let me type it any other way.) It's the coolest website I have ever been to, plus there are lots of things you can read in Derek's point of view. It's awesome, give it a visit.**

**Disclaimer: I've said it before and I will say it again: I don't own Darkest Powers.**

Chapter 10: First Chase

Jessa rolled onto her side. She could see the light filtering through her closed eyelids, but she was still tired and didn't want to wake up yet. She shifted her arm, throwing it over her eyes, successfully blocking the light. She took a deep breath and started to descend back into unconsciousness; then the smell of food reached her nostrils. Her stomach growled at her, voicing that it was hungry, and she groaned, hunger pains causing her to squirm with discomfort.

With a sigh she removed her arm and opened her eyes to the brightly lit living room. _What? _Confusion filled her, Why was she not in her room? followed by: _Oooooh… yeah. _She remembered last night, remembered what had happened, and her whole body suddenly felt 10 times heavier. She could die. A week from now she might not even be living. Well, that just ruined her day.

She was laying on the couch in the living room. She sat up, the room spun, and she quickly laid back down. Tori was sitting in a chair in the corner of the room, immersed in a book. She glanced up at Jessa, then hopped out of her chair and ran over to her.

"You're awake. Finally." Tori's eyes were worried and they scanned Jessa's face, for what, Jessa wasn't sure, but she suddenly felt really guilty knowing that Tori had found out about Jessa's Change after she had already had it. "How are you feeling?" She asked.

"Fine." Jessa murmured, slowly sitting up. This time the room didn't spin. She was still in the shirt she had worn outside to Change, it was dirty from the ground and stiff from sweat.

"Good," Tori jerked her head in a nod, "Everyone's been so worried. You look like crap by the way. I'm going to go get Simon." _Wow, thanks Tori! _Jessa thought, as Tori ran out of the room, but she just sighed and wrapped a blanket around herself. She wasn't really cold, she could still feel a little bit of her fever from last night. The blanket was mostly for comfort.

She heard Simon running down the stairs and smiled to herself. He stopped at the door of the living room and looked at her. He had some serious bed head and the edges of his eyes were a bit red, and Jessa realized that he had been asleep. She instantly felt bad, knowing she had made him stay up with her last night. But as soon as he looked in her eyes, a smile broke across his face.

"Are you feeling okay?" He asked, sitting down next to her, searching her eyes.

"I'm fine." She smiled at him, pulling the blanket closer to her.

"Are you cold?" Simon asked, and not waiting for an answer he pulled her close to him, her head resting on his chest, arms going around her.

She let him, snuggling closer. He rubbed circles on her back, just like he had last night. Jessa's eyes pricked at the memory. So much pain, it had been everywhere; she had been drowning in it. Pain was all she could remember, all she knew, for hours on end.

Then: Simon. Suddenly he was there, talking to her, rubbing her shoulders, back, and neck. She listened to his voice, his words keeping her mind off the pain, off the agony. She listened to him until it was over, and even when it ended he helped bring her back to the house. He did so much for her, and yet she still felt like she had betrayed him.

"I'm sorry." She murmured quietly.

She felt Simon's chest vibrate with a chuckle, "For what?" he looked down at her, and even though he was smiling, his eyes were worried.

She looked at his shirt, picked at it, not wanting to meet his eyes, "For not telling you about my Change." Her eyes stung and a tear escaped. She felt so bad.

"Hey," His voice was soft, gentle, and so was his hand, which he used to turn her chin up to his face, "What's wrong?"

"I was stupid," She confessed, looking into his eyes, trying to get the tears to stop, but instead they multiplied, "I should have told you."

"Why didn't you?" he kept his voice soft.

Jessa shrugged, looking away again, feeling weak and vulnerable, "I-I was scared. I was going to tell Chloe, but then I freaked." Actually she had walked in on her and Derek making out, but Simon didn't need to know that. "And then it was too late to tell anyone. I'm sorry." She ducked her head.

Simon didn't say anything, just wrapped his arms around her. He squeezed her tight, and she loved it, getting closer to him.

"It's okay." He murmured into her ear, "I understand."

God, he was just so wonderful. How did she ever end up with someone so understanding?

"Just don't do it again. Tell me next time." He voice was firm, and Jessa nodded.

She lifted her head to look at him, and his warm brown eyes looked back. He reached and placed his hand on her cheek, his thumb wiping away her tears.

"You're beautiful." He whispered.

And then the tears came freely. Tori had just told her that she looked like crap and here he was telling her she was beautiful. His eyes said he was telling the truth, he really thought she was beautiful. He was amazing. He was unbelievably wonderful. He was completely perfect.

He bent his head and kissed her, his lips moving against hers. She dove into the kiss, getting closer to him, wrapping her arms around his neck, sharing his warmth.

He pulled her closer, until she was practically on his lap. He tightened his arms, squeezing her, and she smiled against his lips. Her hands went to his hair, it was so soft, and she grabbed handfuls of it.

Then Simon did something he had never done before. He opened his mouth and ran his tongue over her bottom lip. Jessa's own lips opened in surprised, and then he was in her mouth. Their tongues met and… it was uncharted territory for Jessa. She never imagined actually tongue kissing with someone; normally the thought alone would make her gag. But honestly? It was amazing.

Their tongues danced and she melted into him, loving the feelings that coursed through her. And slowly, very slowly they both calmed and broke the kiss.

Simon's face was flushed, and she could feel that hers was heated as well. She sighed happily and nuzzled her face against his neck; he tightened his arms around her and kissed her cheek, lips lingering longer than necessary.

And once again her stomach ruined everything by growling loudly. Simon laughed, and since she was basically sitting on his lap, she felt his laugh vibrate through her, which caused her to laugh.

"You've missed two meals and you barely ate anything last night," Simon told her, "I think it's time we got some food in you."

"I think so too." She scooted of his lap so he could stand, then he helped her up. Jessa looked down at the shirt she was wearing, "Maybe I should take a detour to my room first."

Simon nodded his agreement, "Chloe's aunt freaked when she woke up to find you lying in the couch wearing that. She was throwing a hissy fit that made even Tori jealous. She was going to wake you up, then we told her what happened and she calmed down a bit."

Jessa made her way to her room, and when she opened it she found Chloe sitting on her bed, talking to Purple. She jumped when Jessa walked in, than hopped off the bed and tackled Jessa in a hug.

"Are you all right?" Chloe asked worriedly, pulling back to look at her, eyes scanning for damage.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Still kind of tired, though." Jessa pulled the shirt off and traded it in for real clothes. "What does Tori think about not being let in on the secret last night?"

Chloe sat on the bed, "She's mostly mad at us, since we didn't wake her when we noticed you were missing." Chloe sighed, "She's also mad at Simon."

"Why?" Jessa asked, wondering what Simon could have possibly done wrong.

"She keeps saying that he should've noticed that you were about to Change. I think he's taking it kind of hard." Chloe looked at her hands, "We all are, we should've been paying more attention, it's hard to hide something like that. I'm sorry."

Jessa went and sat next to Chloe. Jessa bumped her with her arm, waiting for Chloe to look up before saying, "I should've told you guys, but I didn't, and the only one who's to blame is myself."

"Does Tori like Simon?" Purple asked suddenly. Jessa's head shot up to look at her, "I mean people always say that when a girl picks on a guy it's because she likes him. And, well, Tori isn't really nice to Simon."

Jessa wondered where that trail of thought came from, but it was Purple, and she was worried that she wouldn't like Chloe's answer.

"Oh, no." Chloe waved away the question. "She used to like him, but then she spent a whole 24 hours with him and realized she was misled. Besides, they're brother and sister."

"They are?" Jessa's eyes popped.

"Half brother and sister. Kit's their dad."

"Huh." Jessa huffed, "I didn't know that."

"Didn't know what?" Tori walked in.

"That you and Simon are half brother and sister." Jessa said.

"_What!" _Tori's voice went up an octave, her eyes popping out of her head.

_Oh crap._

"I'm guessing she didn't know." Purple said in a small voice.

Tori stormed out of the room, not waiting for an explanation, yelling for Kit and Simon, Chloe and Jessa right on her heels.

Simon was at the bottom of the stairs and Kit was coming out of the kitchen. Tori pointed at Simon and directed her question at Kit, "Is he my brother?" She asked viciously eyes narrowed, giving him a full force glare.

Kit's face paled noticeably, "Now Tori, how about we be calm about-"

"No!" Tori yelled, "Is he or is he not my brother?"

Jessa really wished she has just kept her mouth shut. By now Derek and Aunt Lauren had joined them, both of them wearing surprised looks and Jessa couldn't tell if they had already know or not.

Kit sighed and ran a hand through his hair, obviously not ready for this.

"Dad?" Simon asked, after a long pause, noticing that he father wasn't denying what Tori was accusing.

"Tori, Simon, can I talk to you two in kitchen?" Kit asked, still not denying anything.

"Oh, God." Tori covered her mouth, eyes wide with disbelief, "It's true."

"In the kitchen." Kit pointed to the door.

Tori went in a daze. Simon looked at Jessa, his eyes showing shock. This was her chance to save him, to comfort him, so she took it. She walked up to him and took his hand and led him to the kitchen. When Mr. Bea gave her a questioning look she replied with, "I'm hungry." Which was true.

Kit sat on one side of the kitchen counter and Tori and Simon on the other. Jessa raided the fridge and found left-overs. Once she heated those up she went and sat next to Simon. He reached for he hand and she gave it to him since she didn't need both of them to eat.

And so Kit launched into his explanation, explaining that Tori and Simon were half brother and sister and that he was Tori's real dad and how he wished he had told them sooner. Tori yelled a lot, and cried a bit, though she would never admit it. Simon didn't do anything, he just sat there, shocked.

Jessa rubbed his hand, trying to get his attention but he ignored her. Finally, Tori stormed out of the kitchen, Mr. Bea followed by running after her. That left Jessa and Simon in the kitchen alone.

"Are you okay?" She asked him gently.

He didn't answer for a while, just stared at the wall, and when he did speak his voice was dazed, "Tori is my sister."

"Yeah."

"I have a sister." He said slowly.

"Yeah." _Way to comfort Jessa, _she thought,_ an idiot could better than you._

A long pause.

"This is just weird." Simon said, bluntly.

Jessa laughed. Of all the things he could have said he decided to go with that one.

He looked at her and smiled, a little bit of his color coming back.

"She used to have a crush on me, thank God that's gone."

"So I heard." Jessa pursed her lips involuntarily.

"No, need to get jealous." Simon grinned.

"I'm not jealous." Her voice sounded a bit off, even to herself.

"I've seen other girls get jealous; you are totally jealous." He was laughing at her now.

"Shut up!" She hit him on the chest, but she was fighting a smile.

"Ow! That hurt!" He clutched his chest in mock pain.

"I'm sorry! Let me know if this one hurts more." She hit him again, trying to keep the grin off her face, but failing.

"Hey! Unfair! Abuse!" She hit him a third time, laughing now.

He jumped off his chair, and she followed him as he ran around the kitchen, trying to get away from her. She managed to corner him by the fridge. He stood there, smile on his face, his eyes calculating, looking for an escape. He tried to get passed her by feinting to the left, but she was watching him and noticed the trick before he even took a half step in that direction. When he really went right she caught him, wrapping her arms around his neck. The momentum caused her feet to leave the ground.

She laughed in his ear, and he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Caught ya." She whispered.

"Damn," She could hear the smile in his voice, "I guess you can't beat a werewolf, can you?"

"Nope, but I'll give you bonus points for trying."

"Speaking of bonus points." He turned his head and kissed her.

Jessa laughed against his lips, then tightened her arms around his neck, bringing them closer together.

Their tongues met again, their breath heavy from running. Simon backed her up against the counter, using it to get closer to her. One of his hands traveled to her hair, grabbing handfuls and pulling at it lightly. His other hand traveled down her arm, sending happy shivers through her. He rested his hand on her waist, then snaked his arm around her, bringing them even closer together than they already were.

Someone cleared their throat from behind them.

They broke apart instantly and spun around to Mr. Bae find standing in the kitchen. Jessa felt her face turn red, she couldn't believe they had gotten caught. How had she not heard him coming? Normally she could pin-point where everyone was in the house just by the sounds they were making. Then again… she was a bit preoccupied.

"Hi, Dad." Simon tried for a casual voice, and other than his red face, he achieved it.

Kit pursed his lips, his eyes weary. Jessa was more than certain that they were about to have a talking to, but Kit just shook his head tiredly, saying, "Don't do anything stupid."

Poor Mr. Bae, Jessa felt bad for him. Tori was probably taking it really hard, seeing how she had lost her mom a few months ago. He probably blamed himself for how she was feeling, doubting himself and so on. At least Simon was better. Speaking of that…

"You mind if I go talk to Tori?" Jessa asked, knowing he wouldn't.

"Go ahead, dinner's going to be a nightmare." Simon grimaced at the thought.

Dinner was a nightmare. Jessa and Chloe tried their best to cheer Tori up, but they weren't miracle workers. Tori didn't say a word the entire time they ate; she just stared at her food, eating in a daze. Since Tori normally supplied most of the conversation, it was really quiet. So that meant people were grasping for topics to talk about. And since the latest shock was Tori's and Simon's sudden siblinghood, that meant people were fixated on the not so recent shock: Jessa's Change.

"So how long did it last?" Aunt Lauren asked Jessa.

Jessa shrugged, "No one ever told me."

"4 hours and 47 minutes." Derek said, not even looking up from his food.

Jessa felt a pang of fear race through her. The Change had been awful, especially before Simon came along, could she really handle longer than that? All the data from the files showed that her second time would be longer than her first, which didn't make sense, shouldn't it be quicker?

But what really worried her was the fact that how close she had come to giving up. The whole time her body was contorting and filled with pain, she had been fighting it, fighting the urge to just give up. Had she done so, she was more than certain she would have died. What if next time she couldn't handle it? What if she gave in? What if the pain became so bad that she would rather die than keep going? That's what worried her the most.

Simon, sensing her fear, reached for her hand under the table. He rubbed slow circles on her skin with his thumb, lightening her dark mood just a little bit.

"So," Simon said, interrupting Aunt Lauren from asking Jessa another question, "I was thinking that we should get a basketball goal, because I'm kind of tired of just playing soccer." And that caused a debate to ensue, which effectively changed the subject, which had been Simon's goal all along.

**Let me know if you liked this chapter. Once again I'm sorry it took so long to update. I will try my best to be faster with the next one. Please review, I really do love to read what you all have to say. **

**Thanks- Cheerfully Blue**


	11. Chapter 11

**I'm so sorry it took me so long to write this chapter. I don't know why but this one was so hard to write, I had the worst time trying to think up what words to use and how to use them, if that makes sense. Well here's the next chapter and I hope the next one will come to me a lot faster.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Darkest Powers, and I wish it were different.**

Chapter 11: First Depression

Jessa slept surprisingly well that night. No nightmares or worries interfered. And when she woke up the next morning to the sound and smells of food cooking, she felt completely normal, almost as if the Change had never happened.

The day followed its usual pattern, everyone finding a way to occupy their time. Her and Simon were always close to each other, and if they weren't sharing a couch or at least in the same room, then Jessa found herself unconsciously locating him in the house by the noises he made. She couldn't help it.

She felt so much closer to him after what they had both gone through two nights ago. Maybe the Change was one of those traumatic experiences that brought people together. Maybe you can't go through something like that and not feel closer to the person you shared it with.

Maybe that was why Chloe and Derek were so close. Maybe after seeing or going through something so scary and painful with another person you can't walk away the same people. It changed people, no pun intended. And with Derek and Chloe it had brought them closer together, and Jessa could tell it was bringing her and Simon closer as well.

She spent most of her time reading, like she normally did. But after the first few hours she found her mind drifting off, and it kept traveling back to the same thing. The Change.

She didn't make it all the way through her first time. She Changed partially, but not all the way, and the files they had accessed on the laptop had told her that the same had happened to the other kids in the experiment. And according to those same files she would have to go through another partial Change, then on her third time she would finally become a wolf. Or at least that's what she hoped, seeing how everyone else died before they could Change all the way. Best to be the optimist.

She took a deep breath, berating herself for allowing her thoughts to go towards the Change again. She wasn't sure when her next partial Change would happen, but she knew it wasn't long. Derek had said three days separated his first pre-run and his second pre-run, which meant she probably wasn't going to have much more than him. And any amount of time would never be enough for her, knowing that her days were, quite possibly, numbered now.

Tori stayed in her room most of the day, and no one bugged her for fear of getting electrically charged by a lightning bolt. Tori had gotten over the shock of having a brother and was now angry at the world, and Jessa wasn't sure why. Simon wouldn't make a bad brother, he was nice, and Tori and him had gotten along perfectly fine before they were both clued in on their relation. So what Jessa was wondering was: What changed? Why was Tori so angry at finding out she had a sibling? It all confused her, but she left Tori to herself, hoping that a little alone time would make her better.

And so another day passed.

When Jessa woke up the next morning she could feel it. The restlessness in her veins, the tightness in her muscles, the burning fever of her skin; she was going to Change that night. Her mood dropped instantly. Chloe woke up around the same time Jessa did, and at one glance at her Chloe said, "You're going to Change tonight, aren't you?"

Jessa slipped on a hoodie. She wasn't really sure if she should be wearing it since it would only increase the temperature of her already unusually warm body, but she just felt comfortable wearing it, like a security blanket, so she didn't care if it made her hot.

Jessa dragged herself downstairs not feeling too good, knowing it was only going to get worse as the day progressed.

The news of her Changing spread to everyone in the house within 15 minutes of her arrival downstairs.

"Are you okay?" Simon whispered to her, as they were getting ready to eat breakfast. Was she okay? No, she felt like crap. Her eyes had trouble focusing and her skin was hot and uncomfortable and her hearing and sense of smell were being wacky at the moment. But she couldn't tell him that, she had to be Super Jessa, a werewolf that could handle everything that came her way.

"I'm fine." She murmured.

Simon gave a hesitant nod, as if not sure if he should believe her, then took her hand and laced his fingers through hers. She smiled to herself, her mood lightening a little.

She would have loved to say that the day went by in a blur, but it didn't. All day her body kept reminding her that the Change was coming. She paced a lot, not really wanting to move, but her body was unable to sit still with extra energy running through her veins. She couldn't read, her mind wouldn't focus, and besides reading there was anything else in the house for her to do. So she spent most of her day dreading what was coming as it came closer and closer with every hour that passed.

As night started to settle Tori came out of her room and marched right up to Jessa, "I'm coming with you guys this time." Tori said, voice angry, "Don't think you all can just abandon me here again." Her eyes were determined and Jessa couldn't do anything but nod. Tori gave an obvious sigh of relief, then marched back up to her room.

When dinner came, Jessa could barely eat anything, which was unheard of. It wasn't that she was feeling nauseous, it was just that each time she put food in her mouth, she could envision herself throwing it right back up. That didn't make her too eager to consume everything she possibly could.

When her attempt at eating was over, she made her way to the living room and stretched herself out on the couch. She pulled her hoodie off, her body was too hot as it was, and the hoodie was only making it worse. She stared at the ceiling, just wanting this night to be over with, but in her head she knew it had barely started.

Simon joined her after a while. He came in and laid right down next to her. Jessa scooted over making room for him; it really was a huge couch. He didn't say anything to her, and Jessa was happy, she wasn't sure if she could handle a conversation at the moment.

After lying together for a while Jessa twisted around and laid her head on Simon's chest. She closed her eyes and listened to the strong pounding of his heart, the quiet, steady intake of his breath, her head rising and falling with his chest. Simon wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him, then stroked her hair, slowing running his fingers along its length. Jessa shivered, loving the whisper of pressure his fingers made.

She really wasn't sure how long they laid there; her brain was muddled with fever so her sense of time was off. All she knew was that at some point Kit approached them and told them they needed to go upstairs and try to sleep. They obeyed, Simon dragging her up the stairs and to her room.

"Come and get me, okay?" He asked her quietly, and she nodded, her brain barely processing the words. He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her forehead, lips lingering longer than needed, thumbs stroking her skin. Then he was gone, walking away from her, entering his room.

Jessa made her way to her own room, heading straight for her bed, not bothering to take her clothes off because she knew she wasn't going to get any sleep.

"Jessa?" Chloe's quiet hesitant voice floated over to her as she climbed into bed.

"Yeah?" Jessa's voice was rough, probably since she'd barely used it that day.

"Will you wake me up when you leave? I want to be there, if you don't mind."

"I don't mind, Chloe. I'll wake you up." Jessa assured her.

"Okay." Chloe murmured, then she rolled over in her bed, falling asleep within minutes.

Jessa was surprised at how many of her friends wanted to come. There was Simon, of course, then Tori, and now Chloe, and if Chloe was going odds were Derek was going too. Jessa wasn't really sure how she felt about this. Would it be weird to have all her friends watching her at her weakest moment? Her brain was being too slow and she couldn't decide.

When her body started to itch uncontrollably and she started to sweat a small river and the muscle spasms became more frequent, she knew she had to leave. Jessa rolled out of bed, the fever making her so uncoordinated she nearly tripped. She went and shook Chloe's shoulder, waking her up, then grabbed the shirt she'd put on last time, clean now.

"Get dressed and then go wake Tori up." Jessa told a sort of awake Chloe, "And make sure she has her i-pod." Chloe nodded and did as she was told.

Jessa made her way into Simon and Derek's room. Both of them were fast asleep, but when Jessa entered the door made the smallest squeak possible, a sound only werewolf ears could hear. Derek bolted awake at the noise, sitting up fast, scaring the crap out of her. Was he really that light a sleeper? She shook her head and went to Simon's bed. He was lying in a tangled pile of sheets, his limbs hanging off the edges of the bed. She smiled, thinking he looked so cute with his mouth hanging open, and his hair completely messed up.

"Simon." She got as close as she dared, not sure if he was like Derek and would spring awake and hit her by accident. When he didn't do anything, she shook his shoulder and called his name again. He woke this time, his eyes opening slowly. It took him a moment to focus on her, but when he did, he sat up quickly.

Without a word he got out of be and started to get dressed. He had already been wearing sweatpants, so he left those on. He pulled off the shirt he was wearing. Jessa took the time to admired the muscles she saw. Simon might be small in build, but he wasn't a string bean. He pulled on a new shirt and a heavy jacket.

Jessa had also noticed that Derek was changing clothes too. So her earlier theory was correct when she assumed Derek was coming. When the boys were ready, they left the room, met up with Tori and Chloe, then they all left the house.

* * *

**Simon's POV**

Simon watched as Jessa unconsciously scratched her arm. Again. He watched as sweat rolled down her face. Again. She didn't say anything, just kept walking through the woods, her mind focus on something he didn't know about.

He and Jessa walked side by side, Simon following Jessa's lead. Derek, Chloe, and Tori walked a few paces behind the two of them. No one talked as they as the trudged through the woods, and a heavy silence filled the air around them, broken only by the sounds of them moving.

Jessa stopped walking, confusion crossing her face. Simon watched as she sniffed the air deeply, her eyes rimmed red and bright from the fever. He watched as she wiped sweat off her forehead, closing her eyes in frustration.

"Left." Derek mumbled.

Jessa's head swung to the left, and her nostrils flared, and after a moment she nodded to herself and started walking again. Simon worried about her, wondering if she really was okay. She had just had trouble finding her way back to the clearing from before, and that might be hard for a normal person, but for a werewolf that was as simple as tying a shoe.

Was she going to be okay? Simon had watched all through out the day as she struggled through it, and he worried the entire time. He had done his best to comfort her, but he could tell that she was lingering on what was coming, and that caused him to do the same.

She was going to get through it, all the files said she would, but that didn't stop him from worrying something bad was going to happen. What if, for some reason, she didn't make it? What if she died? Simon's chest constricted in panic. _No,_ he though firmly, _She's not going to die._

When they finally did reach the clearing, Simon and Derek turned away from Jessa as she stripped off her clothes and slipped on the oversized shirt she had brought with her. When they turned back she was already on all fours, panting with her head down, her black hair hiding her face from view.

Derek, Chloe, and Tori retreated, close enough so they could watch and make sure nothing happened to their friend, but far enough that Jessa and Simon weren't crowded. Simon got to his knees beside Jessa and started to rub her back. She pressed into his hand, shuddering as another spasm went through her body.

And then it started. Jessa's back jerked up, wrenching a cry from her, which she cut off quickly. Her whole body spasmed, and vomit flew from her mouth. Simon rubbed her back hard to comfort her, or at least try to.

The last time Jessa had Changed, Simon had arrived hours after she had started, and by then she had been exhausted. He hadn't seen the beginning of the Change, which involved puking, a lot. But Simon helped Jessa through it this time, talking to her, not at all repulsed by her regurgitating her dinner.

He didn't move her hair away from her face. Derek had warned him not to, and Simon heeded his warning. Jessa was Changing, her shoulders were thickening, her legs and arms shorting, and so that meant her face was Changing as well. Jessa wouldn't want him to see her like that, so he respected her wishes and didn't move her hair.

Hours slipped by. At first Jessa had cut off her cries of pain, but as the Change progressed she stopped trying as hard, letting her yells slowly get longer before stopping them, until finally she stopped cutting them off all together, letting her screams fill the woods around them.

It was close to the 3-hour mark when Jessa collapsed. Simon knew it was coming. Jessa's arms and legs had been shaking with exhaustion, and he knew that they wouldn't be able to hold out much longer. He had moved up closer to her, letting her lean on him for support while she rested, her body having stopped the Change to recharge quickly before continuing.

"It's going to be okay." Simon said, rubbing her back.

Jessa nodded wearily. He could feel her whole body shaking with the effort it took to stay up.

Then her body had decided it was time to continue and her whole being jerked, knocking Simon away. Jessa howled in pain, and fell sideways, her body contorting on the ground. Simon scrambled up, moving towards her head, avoided her arms that were flailing in pain.

"I'm here," he breathed, going to his knees beside her, rubbing her back, "It's okay, everything's going to be all right." He heard a whimper escape her lips as her body continued through the Change.

Black fur was sprouting out from her skin, it was weird to see, but Simon dealt with it. Just as he dealt with the cries of pain that pierced his heart and the harsh painful sounds of her breathing and the skin cringing contortions her body was making. He dealt with it all, because he had to deal, just as Jessa had to go through the Change; they didn't have any other choice

6 hours 5 minutes and 47 seconds was how long Jessa's whole Change lasted. When it ended Simon laid her head on his lap, moving her hair away from her face, and stroked his fingers across her skin repeatedly. Her cat-like green eyes were full of exhaustion, but also relief. He could tell she was thinking the same thing as he was: _She was still alive_. Once Jessa's breathing went from painful gasps to heavy panting, she closed her eyes and was asleep in seconds.

Derek had to carry Jessa back to the house. He marched fast, trying to get her out of the chilly air as fast as possible. Even with the feverish heat still lingering from the Change, Jessa was losing body heat every moment she was unconscious and she needed to get back inside quickly. It was harder for Simon, Tori, and Chloe to keep up since they lacked Derek's sure footing and night vision, but they didn't complain, knowing Jessa was at risk of getting seriously sick from the cold.

Once inside, Derek laid Jessa on the couch in the living room. Simon didn't want to head upstairs to sleep, he wanted to keep an eye on Jessa, make sure nothing happened. Maybe it was stupid, seeing how her Change was over with, nothing _would_ happen. But he didn't want to leave her, so he watched her as she slept. And when he could no longer keep his eyes open, he moved a leather chair in front of the couch and slept in that, refusing to leave her side.

The last thing he saw before shutting his eyes was Jessa's pale face illuminated by a ray of moonlight, still beautiful, even after the torture she had been through.

**Well, once again I apologize for the long wait. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I'm not sure when the next one will come, but I promise you that it will; I'm not ditching my story until it is finished. Please review**

**Thanks- Cheerfully Blue**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hello my faithful readers. I would like to take this time to thank all of you who have taken their time to review. I read all of my reviews from all the chapters all at once the other day and I will admit that I was almost in tears when I finished. There is nothing more wonderful than getting on the computer and seeing that I have a new review. So this chapter is dedicated to all of those who reviewed. And to be honest, this chapter is one of my personal favorites, so I hope you enjoy it.**

**Disclaimer: Since I ran out of funky ideas of how to say "I don't own the Darkest Powers series", I'm just going to have to come out and just say that I don't own the Darkest Powers series.**

Chapter 12: First Love

It was late the next day when Jessa woke up. She was sprawled on the couch, a blanket tangled around her, one leg thrown over the back and an arm hanging off the edge.

"You look so adorable when you sleep." Simon said.

Jessa jerked up, her sleepy eyes looking for him. But they didn't have to look long. Simon was sitting right beside the couch in a chair, his sketchpad on his lap.

"Why thank you," she said through a yawn. "Do we have any food? I'm hungry."

Simon snickered and stood, setting the sketchpad on the chair, "Of course we have food. Come on." He held out his hand for Jessa and pulled her to her feet. He drew her close to him, arms going around her waist. One of his hands tilted her head up to his, his face inches from hers. He stared into her eyes, and stared and stared, his fingers caressing her skin.

Jessa stared back into his dark brown ones. They were full of so many emotions, and she could recognize all of them: relief, happiness, fear, and… love. She saw love. Did he love her? Her heart swelled. Did she love _him_? She didn't know. How do you know if you love someone? Was there some sort of qualification you had to meet? What if he loved her and she didn't love him? Could he tell? _Did he love her?_

She mentally shook her head: she didn't need to worry about this at the moment.

"Hurry up and kiss me," She murmured, smiling slightly, "I'm hungry."

A smile burst it's way across Simon's face and he bent and touched his lips to hers. It was a while before Jessa finally got her food.

* * *

Everyone in the house seemed to be relieved to see Jessa walking around. She'd slept until 6 at night the next day, and they had all been worried about her. Really worried apparently. Aunt Lauren was fretting over what she was eating and asking questions about her health. Kit was quiet, which wasn't normal for him since he always had a conversation bursting out of him just like Simon. Chloe kept glancing at her like she was going to drop dead when she wasn't looking. Tori was being snappier than usual, and Derek even asked if she was doing all right, completely uncharacteristic of him.

Simon, of course, stuck right by her side, trying his best to get everyone to act normal. He held her hand under the table as she ate, resting their hands on his thigh, his thumb rubbing slow circles on her skin. He answered everyone's questions, allowing her to eat in peace. And, boy, did she eat.

Kit had made hamburgers for lunch and pork chops for dinner. While the pork chops were cooking, Jessa warmed up three hamburgers and covered them with ketchup and mustard and pickles and ate them all. Then when the pork chops were done she ate two of those, along with a huge helping of macaroni and cheese.

When people started to look surprised Simon reminded them that she missed two meals that day, went through torture last night, and barley ate anything the day before.

When she was done, her and Simon went back to the couch she had been sleeping on earlier. She curled up next to him, getting as close as possible without actually sitting on his lap. He wrapped an arm around her, and they just sat there, her head on his shoulder, just happy with the fact that they were still together.

After a while Jessa reached for Simon's sketchpad that was still sitting in the chair by the couch. She had seen him working on it when she woke up earlier, and wondered what he had created while she was sleeping.

"What were you working on?" She asked, starting to open the cover.

Simon snatched it out of her hands, "Nothing." Which of course meant something.

Jessa twisted to look at him, he wouldn't meet her eyes, "Can I see?"

"No." He kept his face averted.

"Oh, come on! I want to see!" She grabbed for the sketchpad but he held it out of her reach, his arm stretched out over the arm of the couch.

"Pleeeeeeeeease." She used the sweetest most innocent voice she had. And that caused him to glance at her, which broke his resolve because she was wearing the best puppy-dog face she could muster.

He sighed, bringing the sketchpad back into her reaching zone, "I hate it when you do that."

"No you don't," She smiled, grabbing the sketchpad out of his hands, "You think it makes me look adorable."

"I hate how you use it." He said, wrapping his arm around her again, pulling her close.

"It's a gift some of us are burdened with." She snuggled closer to him.

"And you use it mercilessly." He kissed her nose, then rested his chin on her head. She smiled, and opened the cover of the sketchpad.

The first few pages were his normal drawings: a collection of exotic cartoon characters that always fascinated her. Then she flipped past them and was met with drawings of her. They weren't his usual drawings, which were like comic book sketches. The ones of her were surprisingly realistic.

The first one was of her lying on a couch, her eyes closed and face relaxed in a way that could only mean that she was asleep. A blanket was draped over her, and moonlight shone on her face. She looked immeasurably beautiful, and knew he had to be exaggerating the drawing.

The next one was of her crumpled on the ground. Her body was twisted in a weird painful way. Her hair hid her face from view, but one of her eyes was visible, and it showed endless pain. Was this what she looked like when she was Changing? The image made her want to shudder.

And the last one was of a large black wolf. It's heavily muscled body covered in midnight black fur. It's stance and expression showed utter seriousness. Jessa wouldn't have known it was her had it not been for the eyes. The drawing was completely black and white, like the others, all except for her eyes. Bright green, the same color as a cats, they stood out against the black fur that surrounded them.

Jessa stared wordlessly at the last drawing. She had imagined what it would be like to be a wolf, if she ever made it through her Changes, but it was weird to see herself as one. It gave her mix feelings: grief, happiness, excitement, fear, pain, longing. She gently ran her fingertips over the drawing, as if touching it would make it reality. If only she could just have what was shown on the page, and not worry about her impending mortality. If only she could know if she was ever going to experience life in a different form, or if she would die trying to reach it. If only.

She was quiet for a long time, just staring at the page. Simon, also quiet the whole time, shifted uncomfortably beside her,

"I'm sorry if you don't like it." He murmured, his voice guarded, not sure what her silence meant, "I just wanted to see what it would look like, what _you_ would look like when you Changed. I didn't mean to upset you."

Jessa closed the sketchpad and set it aside. She turned and looked him in the eyes, his face weary, unsure of what she was thinking. Then she smiled and wrapped his arms around his neck, "It's beautiful." She whispered in his ear.

"It's you, of course it is." He stroked her hair gently.

She laughed pulling back and turning to look at him, "You are so full of it."

"I'm serious." His voice lost all joking, he took her face in his hands, "You are beautiful." He stroked her skin gently with his fingers.

It was times like these that made her want to cry. He was just so amazing and so sweet and so understanding and so… so… so perfect. Simon was just so perfect, and sometimes she wondered if she even deserved him. Her heart swelled so much, she loved him so much, more than she could ever love anyone else, more than… She loved him. _She loved him!_

Her eyes filled with tears. Simon looked startled, "What's wrong?" He asked.

"I… I think I love you." She whispered, smiling stupidly.

Simon just stared at her for a moment, then a smile blazed across his face, "Well that's good, because I think I love you too."

She laughed, feeling a bit giddy, "That is good."

"Yes, it is." Then he tilted her chin up and kissed her gently. She smiled against his lips, her whole body filled with blissful air, making her feel like she was floating with pure happiness. Nothing mattered right now except him. It didn't matter that less than 24 hours ago she had been going through living hell; it didn't matter that she had been part of an experiment that ruined had her childhood; it didn't matter that she might not live to see her next birthday. There was only Simon and that was all that mattered. That was all that would ever matter.

* * *

Jessa went through the next day in a happiness induced high. Her discovered love for Simon made everything so much brighter, so much better, so much more perfect. The whole day she felt like she was floating from one task to the next, some part of her always reminding her that Simon loved her and she loved him, making her smile goofily. But on a whole, the day was a happy blur that she barely remembered when she closed her eyes that night.

And the next day, all her happy, breezy, giddy moods plummeted in a nose dive. She knew it was coming. Her Change was coming; she could feel it. She was getting better at knowing when they were coming, and she knew what the extra bit of restlessness of her body meant. But not that night; it wasn't going to happen that night. Maybe the next night, or the night after that, it was still too early to tell.

But it didn't matter. This was it. This Change decided everything. If she made it through she would finally be a full fledged werewolf and she would no longer have to endure the endless torture sessions, or so she hoped. _If _she made it through. _If. _With the first two Changes, no matter how scared she was, she always had the assurances of knowing that she was most likely going to live, thanks to the files they had found. But no one from the experiment had ever lived through the third Change. They had all died. And now she feared more than ever that she would too.

She did her best to hide her worry from everyone, and she thought she was doing a pretty good job – until Simon pulled her aside after breakfast and asked what was wrong.

"Are you going to Change?" He asked, fear and worry were written all over his face, even though he was trying to hide it.

She nodded, not looking at him.

He studied her for a moment, then, silently, he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into an embrace. She let Simon take her, melting into him, her face going to his neck. He tightened his arms around her, resting his chin on her head. They didn't kiss, this wasn't a romantic embrace, it was meant for comfort. It said: _I'm here, everything's going to be all right, nothing bad is going to happen. I'm here, everything will be all right. _

Simon rocked them side-to-side slowly, stroking her hair rhythmically. He was trying to make her feel better, to calm her down; but at the same time she could feel him shaking slightly. He was just as scared as she was.

"Tonight?" He finally asked, his voice sounding a bit choked.

She shook her head against him, "No, not tonight. Tomorrow I think, but not tonight." She sighed and burying her face into him.

He squeezed her fiercely, "It's going to be fine," He assured her, "I will be there and I'll help you and everything will be all right." It sounded a lot like he was trying to convince himself.

Jessa didn't say anything, there wasn't really anything to say. She couldn't agree with him because she didn't know if everything would be all right and she didn't want to lie, not even to herself. They stayed like that for the longest time, until finally they broke apart.

They stayed close together the whole day, and it didn't take long for the rest of the house to figure out that something was wrong; and it didn't take much longer to figure out what it was. By dinnertime everyone was giving her grave looks like she was going to die, which maybe she was, but she really didn't want reminded.

And then it came time to go to bed and Jessa trudged herself upstairs. She laid in her bed, trying to fall asleep, but every time she closed her eyes she was greeted with the picture Simon had drawn of her during her Change. And from that picture she imagined herself writhing on the ground, imagined the pain that would sear its way through her body, imagined the screams that would tear their way from her throat. Jessa shook her head viciously, _don't think about it! _She thought.

But she couldn't sleep; no matter how hard she tried. She couldn't close her eyes without her thoughts wondering. And in the darkness her fears came out in full. It was easier earlier in the day not to think about it because Simon was with her. But now he was gone and his absence left a gapping a hole in the barrier that kept out her fearful thoughts.

_Sleep,_ she ordered herself, _Go to sleep! Just close your eyes and don't think about it and go to sleep. _It should have been so easy, she was so tired, but her thoughts couldn't be quieted. Over and over again she imagined what her Change would be and feel like, and soon she was covered in a cold sweat triggered by fear. Her heart pounded frantically, and she gripped her sheets like her life depended on it.

Simon, she needed Simon. He would calm her down; he would help her get to sleep.

Without thinking clearly she clambered out of her bed and made her way over to the boys room. She opened the door slowly, wincing when it gave a small creak. Derek shot up in his bed, causing her to jump.

"Jessa? What-" he rubbed his eyes, "Are you Changing?" He squinted in the dim light, trying to see if she was Changing.

"No," Jessa twisted her hands together, suddenly wondering if this was such a good idea, "I can't sleep and I keep thinking about the Change and… and… I just want to be with Simon." She finished, her voice going down to a whisper on the last part.

"Oh." Derek sounded uncomfortable, "Well, in that case…" He started to get out of his bed.

"No!" Jessa's hands shot up in the universal 'stop' sign, "You don't have to leave. We're just going to sleep together. I mean- We're just going to _sleep_, not… you don't have to leave. We're not-"

Derek stopped her babbling by putting his own hands up, "I know, but it would still feel weird."

"Oh. Okay." Jessa relaxed a bit and watched as he headed for the door, "You could go sleep with Chloe," she said, then added in a rush, "I mean sleep, just _sleep. _But I'm not saying that you can't… you know. I wouldn't care if you did. You can if you want, I won't stop-"

"Jessa!" Derek cut her off, "Stop talking." She took a deep breath and obeyed, "Good. I am going to go into your and Chloe's room but we're not going to… you know. Now get some sleep, you babble when you're tired and it's annoying." He gave a slight smile to let her know that he was joking, and through the smile she could see that he was worried about her, really worried.

"Okay." She breathed, and watched him close the door, and heard his footsteps make their way to her room. She heard him wake Chloe up, heard his quick explanation and her just as quick acceptance of his presence, and then heard the bedsprings squeal as he joined Chloe in her bed.

Jessa didn't move; she was too scared. What would Simon think? Then she shook her head. Simon wouldn't care, he would want to make her feel better and she was just being stupid by standing there doing nothing.

"Simon?" Her voice sounded so small. He didn't react, just stayed asleep. "Simon?" She shook his shoulder this time. Simon stirred, opened his eyes and squinted at her.

"Jessa?" His voice was clogged with sleep, "What are you-" Then he shot up quickly, sleep falling away, "Are you Changing?" He started to get out of bed, not waiting for a response.

She put a hand on his arm, stopping him, "I'm not Changing. I just can't sleep and I was wondering if I could sleep with you." Then she winced, "I mean just sleep, I don't want to- Well, it's not that I don't want to, it's just that I don't want to right now. Not that that means we will in the future. And I'm not saying we won't either, it's just…" She stopped talking, rubbed her temples, took a deep breath, and tried to ignore the fact that her face was burning hot.

Simon laughed quietly and took her hand, pulling her towards him, "I know what you're trying to say. And yes, you can sleep with me. _Just _sleep." His eyes glowed with amusement.

She sat down next to him on the bed, pulling her legs up beside her, "You're making fun of me."

"No I'm not." He pulled her towards his chest, wrapping his arms around her.

"Yes you are." She laid her head on his shoulder.

"You're right, I am." He stroked her hair.

She smacked him on the chest, "You're mean!"

"I'm sorry." His body vibrated with held back laughter.

"No you're not." She closed her eyes, relaxing.

"I'm really not." He said agreeing with her. She smacked on the chest half-heartedly.

They sat there - Jessa curled up against him, Simon stroking her hair, neither saying anything - just content how they were.

"So you can't sleep?" Simon finally asked, breaking the silence, "Are you having nightmares?"

She shook her head, "I just keep thinking about it. I can see myself in pain, and then I can feel it, and it hurts so much. And the more I think about it the worse it gets, the more scared I get." His arms tightened around her.

"You don't need to be scared, Jessa," Simon murmured, "Everything's going to be okay."

She didn't say anything.

She felt Simon kiss her hair, then he laid down, pulling her with him. Jessa shifted moving her head to his chest, snuggling close to him. He wrapped one arm around her, using his free hand to stroke her hair, her face, her arm. She relaxed slowly, her earlier fears melting away as Simon surrounded her with peace. Her earlier thoughts of the Change drifted away as Simon's fingers, ran over her cheeks, traced her lips, stroked her eyelids. One by one her fears slipped away, until all that remained was Simon. And that was all that really mattered.

"I love you, Jessa," He whispered.

"I love you too, Simon." She whispered back.

He kissed her hair, and she moved and kissed him on the lips. She meant for it to be a quick peck, but once their lips met, an electric current coursed through her, and her intentions changed. She shifted, getting closer to him, her hands going to his chest. He pulled her closer, kissing her deeply. Their tongues met and Jessa lost all sense she had. She moved on top of Simon's chest, her hands going to his hair. One of his hands slid to her rear, the other to the back of her neck.

Their breathing became heavy, heating the air around them. Jessa's hands travel down Simon's neck, shoulders, chest, until finally she found the hem of his shirt and started to pull it up. Simon spoke against her lips, "You need to sleep."

Jessa ignored him and took his shirt off, then ran her hands over his heated skin, feeling the muscles under her fingertips. They continued to kiss, things becoming even more heated.

When she tried to pull her own shirt off, Simon said, "I thought you wanted to sleep."

"No, I don't." She threw her shirt on the floor, she was now only wearing her bra and the basketball shorts she had worn to bed. She went back to kissing him.

"You very specifically said you just wanted to sleep." He said against her lips.

Jessa made a noise that said she didn't care what she had said earlier. She started to fumble with his sweat pants.

"Jessa," Simon stopped kissing her, she ignore him and continued, "Jessa stop." He pushed her off of him.

"What?" She asked, stricken, "Did I do something wrong?"

"No. God no." Simon grimaced slightly.

"Then what? Why'd you stop?"

"Because I love you and I know you don't want to do this." He said.

"No Simon, I really do. I'm ready, I really am." She said quickly.

"That's not what you said earlier." He countered.

"I changed my mind." She swooped back in and kissed him. He kissed her back, and started to lean over her, pushing her into the pillows, but then, suddenly, pulled away.

"No." He said firmly.

"But I'm-"

"Ready," He cut her off, "I know. But I'm not."

Jessa looked at him with complete confusion.

Simon sighed heavily and ran a hand through his tousled hair, "I don't think it's the right time." He said, "You did nothing wrong," His gaze traveled down her, and he shook his head firmly, "Believe me you did nothing wrong. I just don't think now is the right time."

"But I want to-"

"I know."

"And you want to, too. Why don't we?" She tried to kiss him again.

"Jessa!" Simon sounded exasperated as he tried to avoid her lips, pushing her back. "If you don't stop I'll put a binding spell on you!"

"But-"

"Tonight just isn't the right time. You need to sleep right now."

She tried to protest.

"Don't." Simon put his fingers on her lips, then thought better of it and pulled them away. "You're tired, I can see it in your eyes. You need to sleep, not have sex."

She pouted; but knew he was right. She _was_ tired. Her eyes were stinging and her limbs were starting to feel heavy with exhaustion. And this time tomorrow she would be going through her third Change. She would need all the energy she could get, which meant she needed a full nights sleep. Simon, was unfortunately, right; now wasn't the time for sex.

She sighed heavily and put her head on his bare chest, "You're right, I suppose."

Simon hesitated, then wrapped his arms around her, seeing that she had given up, "Of course I'm right."

"Way to be egotistical, Simon." She yawned, snuggling close to him, closing her eyes.

"I'm just speaking the truth." He said, pulling the bed cover over them.

"I'm sorry." She said in a huff.

"Don't be. I thoroughly enjoyed it. We should do it more often." She could hear the smile in his voice.

She laughed and smacked him lightly on the face, "I hate you."

"No you don't." Simon said lightly, twirling her hair around a finger, "You love me." He waited for her to say so.

She didn't say anything, smiling mischievously, her face averted.

Simon stopped playing with her hair, then shifted and looked down at her, worry in his eyes, wondering if he really did offend her. She met his look, keeping her face black, letting him sweat a bit, before letting a smile break free and laughing at him.

"You should've seen your face!" She gasped.

"You're mean and evil!" Simon accused, then preceded to tickle her bare stomach. Jessa shrieked loudly, being very ticklish, and wiggled away from him, only to fall on the floor with a loud thud. The bed cover fell with her, and she laid there, laughing hysterically, the cover tangled around her legs.

Simon's head leaned over the edge of the bed, "Are you okay?"

Jessa's was laughing so hard tears were running out of her eyes, and answering was impossible so she just nodded. Simon stared at her, and soon he was laughing just as hard as she was.

"W-we need to be q-quiet," He gasped between laughs, "Dad or Aunt L-lauren will hear us." Jessa nodded her agreement and tried to stifle her laughs, which only caused her to snort rather loudly. Both her and Simon laughed harder.

"Shhhhhh!" Simon sputtered, "Shhhhhh!" Jessa nodded, and slowly, slowly, they both calmed down. Jessa laid on the floor gasping and clutching her aching abs, trying her best not to bust out laughing again.

"You're slap-happy," Simon said, looking down at her, "You need to sleep." Jessa giggled. Simon reached his arms down and took her hands, "Come on." He murmured, pulling her up.

After dragging her up on the bed next to him, Simon pulled the cover up over them. Jessa curled up next to him, her head resting on his bare chest, sighing happily. He wrapped his arms around her, running a hand slowly up and down the skin of her back.

"I love you." She murmured, sleepily.

"I love you, too." He whispered.

Jessa was asleep in minutes; her mind didn't even have the chance to wonder towards fearful thoughts about the Change. Simon fixed everything. As usual.

**Okay, so maybe some of you wanted that little bedtime scene with Jessa and Simon to end differently, but I am keeping this story clean, well slightly clean. But I do have to admit that that scene was one of the dirtiest things I have ever wrote, and I swear I was blushing the entire time. **

**Jessa's third Change is coming, and that means the story is going to end soon, but don't be sad, the plot is about to thicken drastically. There are still a few more chapters left, but I can't tell you how many because I haven't written them yet. **

**And once again I want to thank everyone who has reviewed. It helps me so much. So, so much. If you are a finfic author you know what I mean when I say reviews totally make your day. And if you are following my story, but have never reviewed, I ask you to please take a few seconds out of your day and do so, I will be forever grateful.**

**And as always, if you have any ideas, don't be afraid to tell them to me. I'm not saying I'm going to use them because I have a basic idea of where the plot is going, but they could give me a good idea to add to the story.**

**Thank you for reading my story and this really long Author's Note (I know it's probably boring you) and for putting up with my blathering.**

**Thanks- Cheerfully Blue**


	13. Chapter 13

**Okay, here's the next chapter, and it's the longest one I have ever wrote. But I'm telling you now, no matter how much you might hate what you're about to read, don't get mad at me (and when I say don't get mad at me, I mean: don't stop reading this story and curse my name into a black fiery abyss. You're more than welcome to comment and say "Hey, Cheerfully Blue, I hate this." Go right ahead, just promise me you will wait for the next chapter). And as usual I'm over exaggerating everything. For all I know you might all love it. But you will have to read and find out.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Darkest Powers series *sad dramatic sigh*.**

Chapter 13: First Tears

Jessa woke the next morning with her face unusually warm. She opened her eyes and was greeted with the wonderful view of Simon's feet. The view was so weird and unexpected that she jerked back in surprise, only to have her head ram into the wall.

Totally confused, Jessa propped herself up on her elbow, trying to take stock of her situation. When she and Simon had fallen asleep they were in each other's arms and she had had her back to Derek's bed, which sat on the other side of room. Now her head was next to Simon's feet and she was on the other side of the bed.

She supposed that was to be expected since both her and Simon sprawled and moved about when they slept. Still, she would've thought she would notice herself rolling over Simon and turning herself upside down. No, wait. She still had her head at the head of the bed; it was Simon who had turned himself upside down during the night. Interesting.

Sighing, she carefully as possible moved to where she had her head to the foot of the bed, just like Simon. He still had his back to her, lying on his side, but she didn't mind; she just draped an arm over his bare chest and put her face in between his shoulder blades.

She nuzzled the skin of his back and took a deep breath. She was greeted with the smell of him, and her eyes fluttered. She would never get over that, the way he smelled. It was like smelling warm, just out of the oven chocolate chip cookies. No matter how many times you smelled them, your mouth always watered.

"You're nose is cold." Simon's muffled voice floated over to her, startling her.

"When did you wake up?" She asked, not moving away from him.

"About the same time you pressed your ice cold nose against my back." He muttered, following it with a yawn and a huge stretch that popped every back joint he had. He turned over and greeted her with a sleepy smile, which looked so adorable on him with his messed up hair and half asleep eyes.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to wake you." She smiled back.

"It's okay, it's like what? 7? 8 in the morning? Who needs to sleep in 'til noon? Real men rise at the break of dawn."

"It's probably 10 o'clock right now," She said, "Which means we slept in and we're probably not going to get breakfast." She frowned at the thought; Kit made really good pancakes.

Simon wrapped his arms around her, "We can eat cereal. A whole meal ready in seconds, a modern miracle."

She laughed and snuggled close to him, her arms going on around his neck. He flinched, and she looked at him, startled.

"Your fingers are cold." He said, then touched his feet to hers, "And so are your toes. What did you do, sleep on a block of ice last night?"

"Well you hogged the cover the whole night." She accused.

"I did?" Simon frowned, "I thought you were hogging it."

"I didn't have it." She looked around for the missing cover, and leaning over Simon, found it lying forgotten on the floor.

"Huh," Simon said, looking over his shoulder, "I wonder when it feel off."

"Probably when you moved." Jessa said, poking his arm.

And only then did Simon realize that he was at the foot bed and not at the head where he had started last night. He had a 'well, would you look at that' expression on his face.

Jessa was smiling dryly at him, "You're not very observant, are you?"

"Not particularly, no." She laughed and snuggled up close to him. "But I leave will the observations to you, my little werewolf, nothing escapes you."

"Except the missing cover." She murmured into his shoulder.

"Well, that is to be expected," Simon said, his voice professor-like, "You were too distracted by my presence to notice."

"Or maybe I was distracted by your feet in my face." She countered.

"That also is possible." Simon's voice stayed serious, "But may I remind you that your feet were in my face too."

"No they weren't," Jessa said, "I'm shorter than you," She wiggled her feet, which didn't reach as far down bed as his did, "My feet weren't in your face. Plus you had your back to me." She smiled knowing she'd won.

Simon sighed heavily, "I swear, werewolves must be smart by nature, only you and Derek could notice all these things. After just waking up, none-the-less"

"Or maybe you're just really unobservant." Jessa whispered, like she was telling him a secret.

"Or maybe you were clouding my senses." He said with a smile, "Yep, that sounds like a manly reason. I'll go with that one."

"That's hardly manly," Jessa said.

"You're right, but I was hoping that it would force you to kiss me because I'm tired of just laying here and talking." She laughed and gave him a quick peck on the lips before gracefully hopping over him and out of the bed without making a sound.

She started to put the shirt on that was discarded during her deranged need for sex last night.

"Let me rephrase that," Simon said, turning towards her as she pulled her shirt on, "I was hoping it would force you to make-out with me because I'm tired of just laying here and talking."

She laughed again, tossing him his own shirt, "No can do," She said, walking towards the door, "Aunt Lauren is about to come up the stairs now, wondering where we are. Her and Kit have yet to find out that we spent the night together, and I would like to keep it that way to avoid a lecture."

She heard him sigh dramatically behind her, "I suppose you're right."

"I'm always right." She said.

"I thought I was always right." He countered.

"Well you aren't right now because I'm clouding your senses." She tried to keep the smile out of her voice.

"Well if you're hoping that line is going to get me to kiss you, you're going to be sadly disappointed." Simon said.

"Darn." She murmured. Then she turned and gave him a quick smile and left his room.

Aunt Lauren was nearing the top of the stairs and Jessa quietly jogged over to her own room. Just as Aunt Lauren's head peeked over the top step Jessa was closing the door from her room, heading down the hallway, her supposed destination: the stairs.

"Oh, hey, Aunt Lauren." Jessa greeted her, rubbing her eyes, "Wow, I was tired." She blinked quickly a few times, a pretended to muffle a yawn, "Did I miss breakfast?"

"No, I think Derek left you a few pancakes. Is Simon with you?"

Jessa frowned, "No," She tilted her head, acting like she was trying to hear something, "He's in his room. He's up, I can hear him moving around."

"Good. Well you go on down and eat and I'll get Simon."

"Okay." Did Jessa miss the grave look that Aunt Lauren gave her? Nope. And just like that everything came flooding back to her: the fears, the uncertainties, the memories, the fever she could feel running through her. Just that one look triggered in all; reminding her that she was going to Change. Every defense she had built up against the thoughts of the Change with Simon last night came crashing down.

Today was going to suck!

* * *

And suck it did. All day she was met with grave glances, and after the first dozen times it became old.

So she did what she always did with things she couldn't stop. She ran. Or at least she hid. She took the longest shower she had ever taken, and then spent forever in her room, just lying on her bed, staring at the ceiling.

And that's when Purple appeared. Purple had been missing for the past few days, and Jessa wasn't really sure where she went.

Chloe had told her a few weeks ago, back when she was teaching her about necromancy, that ghosts can't talk to necromancers about the afterlife.

"It's not that they don't want to, it's just they can't." Chloe had said, "They'll get in trouble."

"By who?" Jessa had asked.

"Exactly, no one knows."

So Jessa had no idea where Purple was going, only that wherever she was going, she was going there more often than she had ever gone before. It used to be that Purple would disappear during the night and reappear in the morning. But now she was gone for days, gone without checking in with Jessa or giving her an explanation.

And what made things worse was the fact that Jessa was hardly noticing Purple's absence. When it had just been her an Purple alone on the streets, Purple was all Jessa had. But now she had Simon and Chloe and Derek and Tori and Kit and Aunt Lauren. She had more friends than she had ever had at one time, and Purple was hardly missed.

"Jessa!" Purple had squealed, jumping on the bed next to her, and with her being a ghost, the bed didn't move.

"Purple! Where have you been?" Jessa sat up and looked at her. Ghosts didn't change, not in appearance, but there was something about Purple that had changed since the last time Jessa had seen her, but she didn't know what it was.

"I've been… around." She said vaguely, "What have you been up to? I heard you went through your second Change a few days ago."

Jessa frowned, "Who'd you hear that from."

Purple wouldn't meet her eyes, "Not important. What's going on between you and Wonder Boy?"

Jessa grinned, glad she could finally tell Purple something she could approve of. She started to tell her about her and Simon spending the night together.

Purple gasped, "You two did the nasty together?"

Jessa laughed, "No! We just fell asleep together. Nothing really happened" Then she went on to explain everything that had happened, Purple hanging onto her every word.

And when she finished they were both quiet. They were quiet for a really long time and an uncomfortable silence fell around them. There was never an uncomfortable silence between her and Purple. Never.

"Purple," Jessa finally said, looking at her hands, her voice quiet, "Be honest when you answer this question: Are you leaving? Forever?"

Purple didn't answer her right away, which meant that she was being completely serious, which was totally out of character for her.

"Purple?" Jessa asked when she had stayed quiet for too long.

"It's not really leaving…" Purple said.

And even though Jessa expected it, even though deep down she knew it had been coming for the past few weeks, if not the past few years, she still burst into tears when Purple admitted it.

She was losing her best friend. She was losing her oldest friend. Purple was the only reason she was alive, she was the only reason that Jessa made it out of the Lab, and she was leaving her. Purple had never left her. Even in death Purple had stayed with Jessa, and now she was going to abandon her.

"Why?" Jessa sobbed.

"I'm not leaving now!" Purple said frantically, "I'm not leaving for a long time!"

"But why?" Jessa asked through her tears, "Did I do something wrong?" God, she had never felt more like a girl then she did now. She didn't cry, she almost never cried, but here she was bawling like a baby.

"No," Purple's voice was soothing, "No, Jessa you did nothing wrong. It's just now you have a life, you have people who can look after you and keep you safe and out of harm. You don't really need me anymore."

"But I don't want you to leave," Jessa said, "You're my best friend, I don't want you to leave."

"I'm dead, Jessa." Purple said sadly, "I've been dead for a long time. And you're my best friend, too. You always will be. But there are places where ghosts go, they don't just wonder the earth, you know that. And it's time I went to those places, instead of flitting back and forth in between your world and mine."

"So you've been going where ghosts go?" Jessa hiccupped, her tears having slowed.

"Yes, and I won't give you details." Purple said firmly, trying to communicate mentally that Jessa shouldn't push her for answers.

"Okay." Jessa sniffled.

"But I'm not leaving for a while." Purple smiled, " I'm not leaving until I want to go. And even then I can still come and pop in and check on you."

"So it's not like you're leaving." Jessa said, "You're just taking…vacations."

Purple smiled brighter, "Yeah, I'm taking a vacation. I'm taking a lot of vacations. That's a good way of putting it."

And then Jessa studied her dearest friend. Something in Purple had changed, and finally she saw what it was: Purple was happy. She was really happy. And even though Jessa resented knowing that her friend was happy without her, she still loved her enough to let her go.

After talking a bit more Purple left for some secret mission of her own and said she would be there when Jessa Changed.

* * *

When Jessa Changed.

She was getting more restless the longer the day went on, and a fever started drowning out her senses.

She didn't even pretend to be interested in dinner that night. She just took one look at the food, her stomach twisting uneasily, and left to go lie down on the couch. Followed shortly by Simon.

No on even bothered going up to bed because no one would've been able to sleep. They just sat around in the living room and waited until Jessa was ready to go outside and Change. And Jessa wasn't the only one who was going to Change that night. Derek was going to Change too. The way he looked at it was that when Jessa made it all the way through, they could run together. They all tried to ignore the fact that it might not happen.

Kit was pacing back and forth in front of the fireplace and Jessa listened to the sound his shoes made on the carpet. Aunt Lauren had a huge mug of coffee in front of her, and a determined expression that said she was going to stay up all night.

Jessa had this bizarre feeling that they were all in the waiting room at a hospital waiting for some baby to be born. No, a birth was filled with excitement. This felt like they were all waiting for a doctor to come out of surgery and tell them if their friend survived the procedure that was questionable to start with or if they had died. That was how high the tension was, it felt like they were waiting to find out whether Jessa was going to live or not, and Jessa was waiting right along with them.

And when she couldn't handle it any longer, the tension getting the best of her, she stirred and nudged Simon gently off the couch.

Everyone looked at her, swinging their heads so fast she wondered if they got whiplash.

"I-I" She stuttered at the sight of everyone looking at her like she was about to explode, "I'm going to go upstairs." She bolted for the stairs not waiting for anyone to say anything.

Once in her own room she felt the tension slowly seeping out of her veins. Was she still worried? God, yes. But at least now she didn't have to put up with everyone staring at her up here.

And when it was time for her to go outside she grabbed the oversize t-shirt she was going to use and opened her bedroom door. She was surprised to see Simon sitting right by the door in the hallway. Jessa was almost never surprised, so it just showed how wacky her senses were being at the moment.

"You ready?" He asked, his face devoid of the grave look everyone else was wearing, which was a great change.

She nodded, wiping away sweat from her forehead. Simon stood up and took her hand, leading her down the stairs.

She didn't really pay attention to what happened after that. All she knew was that she made it into the forest and Kit and Aunt Lauren had decided to stay behind at the house but she didn't know the reason why. She figured it was because it was cold out and they were old. At some point along the way Purple joined them, and she was unnaturally quiet, which shook Jessa's nerves.

When she came to the clearing where she had Changed the first two times she turned away from the guys and pulled off all her clothes except for her panties and slipped on the giant shirt.

And then she was on her hands and knees, not really sure how she got there, just that she was there, waiting for the pain to come and she knew she wouldn't have to wait long.

Simon was beside her, playing with her hair, rubbing her back as she waited.

She could hear Derek about a hundred feet away to her left, in the middle of his own Change. It was so easy for him, he was already a werewolf and he didn't have to worry about going through hell for hours without knowing if he would be alive when it was over with.

And then the hell began.

It was hard for her to describe the pain. It wasn't enough to just say it hurt like hell because even that couldn't describe what she was feeling. But it was everywhere, everything hurt. Even her insides hurt as they contorted in the Change, causing her to scream in pain and puke her food up.

Pain was all she felt, was all she sensed, all she was aware of. The lively forest around her no longer existed, it was like she was in her own world; a world that was so screwed up and twisted that it ate you from the inside out; a world that injected its inhabitants with a pain beyond belief; a world that caused people so much pain it drove them to insanity. And she was in that world. And she couldn't find her way out.

And then she heard Simon's voice, "Jessa, I'm here, everything is going to be okay. You'll get through this."

It came to her from very far away, breaching the walls of the painful world around her. _Simon,_ she though. And he kept talking, and she focused on that because it was the only thing in that world that didn't hurt, the only thing that made her feeling better.

The more she focused on him, the more the world around her seemed to fade. It didn't dim the pain, but it lost its intensity. While her body was in the middle of hell, her mind was listening to Simon talk to her. And he never stopped, even though he was saying the same thing over and over, he didn't stop talking. And she listened as if her life depended on it.

And slowly, she realized, that she was leaving the world of pain behind and coming back to Simon. The pain was still there, but some how she had managed to bring her senses back so she was aware of the world around her.

She could feel Simon's hand on her back, rubbing slow circles as her body shuddered and jerked in pain. She could taste her sweat dripping onto her lips, along with the bile that coated her mouth. She could see her hands digging into the ground below her, her hair blocking out everything that wasn't directly below her. She couldn't smell anything because she was panting, but she could hear everything around her. She heard Simon of course, and then she heard the breathing of Tori and Chloe farther out, and Derek's breathing, which took her a moment to identify because she was used to hearing him breath as a human. She had no sense of Purple, she was a ghost and didn't make sounds other than talking, but Jessa knew she was there.

She focused on all of this, hanging onto it for dear life. She didn't want to go back into the hell world she was just in. And if she focused, she knew she wouldn't.

Time stopped meaning anything to her. Jessa couldn't tell you the difference between a minute and an hour. What made the difference? What did it matter when either way you were in pain? She just stopped caring and focused on staying in the world around her, refusing to let the pain beat her.

But it was getting worse. Fur was driving its way up through her skin like burning hot needles, only to pull back in afterwards, and then it repeated itself. And she could feel her bones and muscles shifting their way underneath her skin, one hard painful jerk at a time. She could feel her whole body Changing into some foreign being as she helplessly waited for it to end.

And the farther she made her way into the Change the more it hurt. Her body was wearing down, and everything started to hurt ten times more than it did when it first started. She could feel herself weakening, could feel her defenses crumbling against the pain. She couldn't go back into that world of hell, if she did the pain would overwhelm her, if she did she would die, no question about it.

So she focused on Simon whenever she thought she came close to diving into that other world. She focused on his voice, not always hearing what he was saying, but just hearing him. She needed to stay with him, because she loved him and he loved her and she trusted him more than anyone she had ever met. And if he told her to stay with him, that everything would be okay, then she believed him, because what else did she have to believe in at the moment? He was all she had to save her from a river of drowning pain.

She loved the moments when her body stopped shifting. She knew in was just recharging itself like a battery, but still it gave her moments of clarity around her. Moments when she could relax and completely listen to what Simon was saying, to breath in his scent as her breathing calmed, to feel his hand on her back and not have to worry about diving into the hell dimension that would kill her.

But those moments never lasted long. They always ended, and the pain always returned, getting worse and worse each time as her body started to reach its limit and then some.

At some point she remembered falling. It had shocked her, the sudden change in position, the stopping of Simon's voice as he moved to get closer to her in her new spot. But almost as soon as it happened she forgot about it, because pain threatened to take her over again.

And on she went with her Change. She soon found herself fighting more than just pain; she was starting to fight exhaustion. It was like a gift really. It dimmed the pain, it took pain away; but it also took Simon away. She almost gave into exhaustion more than once, but every time that happened Simon's voice would start to fade away. In panic she would fight against exhaustion, fighting her way back to Simon, knowing that she wanted to be wherever Simon was, even if it meant going through hell.

But still, she could feel herself fading away, her energy draining. And at times she wondered how long she had been going through it, but would always fear that it had only been an hour and she still had to go through so much more. And still, in her moments of clarity, she wondered how much more she could handle. How much longer could she hold off the hell world or exhaustion before her defenses crashed and she couldn't fight anymore and she died, leaving Simon behind? Did she want to know the answer? She didn't know because her moment of rest had ended and her Change continued.

And then she was resting again. Her chest was heaving as she gasped in air, but still it felt like she wasn't getting enough oxygen. She was lying on her side on the ground her limbs shaking from exhaustion. She could feel Simon's hand brushing sweating hair off the back of her neck and she couldn't stop thinking how good that felt, how good it felt to feel the chilly night air reach her fevered skin.

And then she heard Simon ask over his shoulder, "How long has it been?"

And she heard Tori's almost instant reply of, "Seven hours."

Seven hours! She'd been out there for seven hours? Holy freakin' crap! No wonder she was so tired.

"You're going to finish soon." Simon said in her ear, rubbing her back again, "You have to finish soon." He said fiercely.

Finish? She hadn't even thought about finishing it. She just wanted the pain to end; she didn't care how it happened, just as long as the pain ended.

And then it started up again and she was hit with the pain and she screamed, her voice breaking from the strain.

And that was when she knew that she wasn't going to finish the Change. Simon hoped that she would make it through the Change and transform into a wolf, and she wanted that too, because it meant she could stay with him. But she just didn't have the energy, and at the moment she didn't give a damn what would happen as long as the pain ended, all she wanted was for it to stop. And the only way to make it stop was to give into the hell world or to give into exhaustion. The only way to get it to end was to die.

And as soon as she thought that, she knew that she wasn't going to live. Her body couldn't take anymore of this torture, and neither could her mind. Her whole being was falling apart, the pain wearing her down, and Jessa didn't know how much longer it would be until she turned into a wolf, _if_ she even could turn into a wolf, but it didn't matter because she couldn't handle anymore of it. She had been fighting with death for over seven hours, and she just couldn't fight anymore. She couldn't hold off death any longer, her body just didn't have the strength to resist it.

And when she realized that she was actually going to die, she started to cry. She was more than sure that some of the tears were from relief, but most of them were from fear. She didn't want to die, not really, she just wanted this to be over with, but she couldn't go on any farther. She didn't want to leave Simon; she loved him. But she was dying, she could feel her weak body becoming weaker and weaker, and it was only so much longer before everything ended.

Simon, who was always looking into her eyes, noticed her tears.

"Jessa?" He voice was guarded, not sure why, after all the pain she had been through the past few hours, she was crying now. "Jessa?"

She started to sob, still fighting off the pain that was burning through her body. And then she was resting again, her Change having stopped, and she was able to cry freely, not having to worry about the pain.

"Jessa?" Simon sounded worried, "Jessa what's wrong?" His brown eyes looked searchingly into hers.

She just shook her head weakly, sobs racking her body, "I can't do it." Her voice didn't even sound like her own, it was deeper and garbled.

Simon just froze, "What do you mean?" Simon asked in a whisper.

"I can't do it. It hurts so much." And then her voice was swallowed by tears and she couldn't talk.

"No, Jessa," Simon got real close to her face, his eyes filling with tears, "No, Jessa you can't just give up. You have to fight it." What the hell did he think she'd been doing for the past seven hours? Taking a stroll through the park?

"You have to fight it Jessa. You have to stay here, okay?" Tears spilled over Simon's eyes, "You can't die, okay? You have to stay here. You have to stay here because I love you and I don't want you to leave." Jessa only cried harder. She was making the person she loved cry, but she couldn't help it; she didn't _want _to die, she just knew that she was, and the thought scared her.

"I love you, Jessa." His voice was shaking now, God help her, it was breaking her heart, "I love you and I don't want you to leave because I don't know what I will do without you. I'm serious; I don't know what I will do."

But Jessa could only shake her head weakly and scream as her Change started up again. She continued to fight it though. She didn't want to die, she didn't want to leave Simon, but she was just so tired and it was getting harder and harder to keep going.

But some how she managed to make it to her next resting moment, and as soon as the pain faded and she became fully aware of the world around her she knew something was wrong. Simon was completely focused on her, of course, tears falling down his face. But behind him Jessa could hear Tori and Chloe.

"Derek, what's wrong?" Chloe asked frantically.

"Come on, Wolf Boy! Give us something to work with, we don't speak dog." Tori said impatiently.

And that's when Jessa heard Derek growling. And it wasn't a growl that said he was annoyed, this was a full out 'you better back off' growl. Jessa's hair stood up on end. She tried to see around Simon, tried to get a look at Derek, but she just didn't have the strength.

But Simon saw what she wanted and moved out of her line of view. Derek was still in wolf form, of course. He was facing the left side of the clearing, his ears down, his fur puffed up, and his teeth bared, growling the meanest growl she had ever heard.

"Derek?" Simon asked, sniffling, "What is it?"

But of course, none of them spoke dog. And even though Jessa was a werewolf, it didn't give her amazing bilingual powers, she was just as lost as the others. No, wait, she wasn't.

Jessa closed her eyes and sent her hearing far out into the forest, trying to find anything that seemed out of the ordinary. And she found what it was. Everything was too quiet.

And then she took a quick breath through her nose, which was hard she was panting, but some how she managed it. And when she did her blood went cold and her heart froze in fear.

"What is it?" Simon asked, some how knowing she was panicking inside.

"Werewolves." She whispered.

A howl echoed through the forest. And it didn't belong to Derek.

**BUH- BUH- BUH- BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUMMMMMMMMMMMM! **

**So, what do you think? Good, awesome, sucks? Let your opinion be heard by reviewing. And whatever opinion you may have, don't be afraid to say it loud and proud, I don't care, I just want to know that people are reading and are getting into the story.**

**And what do yo guys think will happen? Will Jessa make it through the Change? What's with the random werewolves? I already know what's going to happen, but you guys don't and I want to hear what you think might happen, just to see if my story is predictable or not.**

**Thanks- Cheerfully Blue**


	14. Chapter 14

**Awwwwww! I love every single one of you who reviewed, I really do. I swear it makes me want to cry to know you guys care so much, and I'm starting to get the eye stinging that happens before the actually tears while writing this. I love you all and I could never get through the story without you (well, maybe I could, but you guys make it more fun!) And I'm not saying all of this because this is the last chapter, it's not, but it's getting close and I just want to make sure you all know how much your support means to me.**

**And since you all are amazing I decided to post this chapter early. I hate cliffys, I really do. And since my last one was a cliffy I didn't want to leave you guys hanging for too long. And to make it even more special this is now the longest chapter I have ever posted. And to make it even _more_ special I included a fight scene, because who doesn't love fight scenes? So go on and read.**

**Disclaimer: I'm just a lowly author in training (fan fiction being my training at the moment) and I could never create something as amazing as The Darkest Powers series, but I'm sure as heck going to try.**

Chapter 14: First Fight

The howl died and faded in the forest. Jessa gasped because she had been holding her breath, waiting for it to end, and that wasn't good when you were panting like you were over-weight and trying to run a marathon. She heard Derek growl quietly across the clearing.

"Shit!" She heard Tori say.

"Be quiet!" Chloe whispered, "They'll hear us!"

And as if on cue, Jessa's Change started up again. She couldn't help it, she screamed. Loudly. She fought against the urge to give-up and die as the Change tried to over-whelm her, now wasn't the time to give in. And a few minutes later she was resting again, panting like a husky in the middle of the desert, but still alive.

The other werewolves knew where they were thanks to her. They would be heading this way; they should already be here, actually. Why were Chloe, Tori, and Simon still here? They couldn't fight werewolves; Derek would know that, what was he doing?

And then she noticed that Derek (still in wolf form, of course) had Simon's shirt in his mouth and was trying to get Simon to move. But Simon didn't want to leave her, because she was dying, and he kept trying to tell Derek that. But Derek had werewolf hearing, he would've heard Jessa saying she couldn't go on just minutes before, Simon shouldn't have to tell him that. And then her and Derek's eyes met, and what she saw made her immensely sad.

Derek had heard, and he knew that Jessa was dying, but he still wanted to take Simon away. They didn't know how many werewolves there were or what they wanted, only that it was bad, because the Pack wouldn't do something like this and if they're not Pack werewolves then they're looking for trouble. Jessa was practically dead, if they found her it wouldn't matter because she was dying; but Simon wasn't. Simon was still very much alive and Derek wanted to keep it that way.

Fighting back more tears, Jessa nodded at Derek, letting him know that she agreed with him, however much it hurt.

"Simon," She forced herself to talk, but it came out as a husky whisper.

"Jessa! I'm not leaving you, don't worry, I'm staying here with you. Derek, let go!" Simon continued to fight his brother.

"Go." She whispered.

"What?" Simon sounded shocked, and stopped his struggles.

"Go with him." She looked into his eyes, pleading for him to understand.

"But Jessa-" His brown eyes looked so sad.

"Go, Simon!" And then she screamed as her Change started up again. With all her might she hung on as pain tore through her body, not willing to die yet, not while she knew Simon was in danger because he wouldn't leave her.

And when she was resting again, the clearing was empty, and she was all by herself.

The thought of dying by herself scared the crap out of her, but it was better than the alternative of Simon staying with her while werewolves were on the loose. Derek would take care of him, make sure he got back to the house okay, back under the magical barriers that Kit had set up around it. And then she heard Tori's quiet curse hundreds of yards away from her. Hundreds of yards to her right. The house was in the other direction, and they were heading away from it. What the hell was Derek doing?

And now she was worried about Simon. What if something happened to him? She had assumed that he was safe with Derek but now she wasn't so sure. She had no idea how many werewolves were wondering around in the forest. Derek couldn't stop them all, he wasn't that good. What if one slipped through? Simon could protect himself with spells but she remembered him saying once that he wasn't sure if his spells would work on a full grown werewolf and he said he kept meaning to practice them on Derek but hadn't gotten around to asking. What if his spells didn't work and they killed him?

Oh God. Fear filled every part of her body. She couldn't let Simon die; she just couldn't; her whole being rebelled against the thought of Simon leaving this world. She had to protect him, had to keep him safe.

And then her Change started up again and the pain tried to overwhelm her, but she fought against it. She fought with a new determination, with a new inner strength she didn't know she had. All she could think was that she couldn't die, she just couldn't die, she had to make sure that Simon was safe, had to make sure that he lived.

And then the Change stopped. She wasn't resting, no. It had stopped, not just stopped, but finished. She was a wolf. She had made it through her Change!

Jessa let a brief jolt of joy course through her before she tried to shoot to her feet and take off running, but she got to her feet and fell heavily. Exhaustion made her eyes heavy and she was at risk of falling asleep. But she refused to do so. She waited, trying to get her bearings on her new form.

How many times had she imagined what it would be like to finally be a wolf? Too many, and yet it was still nothing like the real thing. Her senses, already sharp and more heightened than a human being, increased even more in this form. Her eyes could see so much better in the dark than her human eyes could, but colors looked different. She wasn't seeing in black and white, but everything seemed duller than they did in human eyes, but she could still see farther.

And it was so weird to have four legs and a tail, and yet it felt so natural. She couldn't really describe it, but she felt like laughing the entire time she tried to get used to herself being a wolf.

And once she was sure she had a hang of it, she took off running. She stumbled a lot at first, but after a while she was able to run with out fault.

She followed the trail that Tori, Chloe, Simon, and Derek had left behind, breezing through the forest, amazed at how easy she could move as a wolf.

And then she found them, all bunched up in a thicket that Derek and Purple were guarding, Purple holding a big long stick ready to let it swing at the first sign of attack. Derek growled as she approached, but once he caught a whiff of her, he stopped. She walked past him her tail brushing him, a silent thank you for taking Simon away with him. For protecting him. Purple just smiled and starting saying how she knew Jessa wasn't going to give up, how she was as tough as nails and made hammers quiver when they caught sight of her. Jessa just rolled her eyes and kept walking.

And then she was peering in on Tori, Chloe, and Simon, all clumped up in between a bunch of thorny bushes. They all looked at her in astonishment, tears in their eyes, having thought she would be dead. She didn't have to worry about them mistaking her for someone else because she knew her eyes were unmistakable. And then Simon's arms were around her neck, pulling back every few seconds to look at her. He ran his fingers through her black fur, and Jessa closed her eyes at the feeling.

"I thought you were dead." He whispered, looking deeply into her eyes. She saw the tears he had cried, and she knew that he truly had thought she was dead. The thought horrified her, it would hurt so much if Simon had died, she couldn't even begin to imagine what he had gone through. She just nuzzled his neck, breathing in his scent deeply, so so glad that she was still alive to do so.

Then she heard Derek growl lightly, telling her to end the reunion and get out there and help guard them.

With once last look at Simon she turned walked over to stand beside his brother. She felt so powerful in this form; she wondered who was stupid enough to attack them.

She didn't hear anything, but she raised her head, and an almost not existent wind brought her the scent of werewolves. It was a lot easier to distinguish scents with this nose. She picked up three different werewolves, and she swiveled her ears around, trying to pinpoint their location. She heard a small twig break to her right, and was surprised at how close they were. And the closer they came, the more she heard, and it didn't take long to realize they weren't all approaching from the same direction.

She heard one werewolf off to their left and another off to their right. Where was the other one? And then she heard him, approaching them from the front. But there was something weird about his steps, what was it? And then she knew; he had only two legs, he was in human form.

What? Was he crazy? They could tear him to shreds; he was almost completely defenseless against them.

Jessa took a silent step forward; ready to pounce before the three of them made it into the clearing she was standing in. She wasn't going to let these people just walk in and hurt her friends. She was going to protect them with everything she had, even if it meant giving her life to save them, she would give it willing as long as they were safe. Everything seemed so simple in this form. She was going to stop these trespassers and protect her Pack. And they were her Pack, a group of people who took her in when she needed help and she loved them all. They were her Pack, you do everything to protect your pack, and her and Derek were going to just that.

She didn't take more than two steps before Derek gave a quiet growl, telling her to stop. Instincts warred against instincts. She needed to protect the ones she loved, but Derek had more experience than she did. More experience meant you were in charge, which in a way meant that Derek was the Alpha here, even if it was unofficial. Fighting her urge to leap from the clearing and attack, Jessa backed up slowly until she was standing next to Derek again, not turning her back to the ones approaching.

And then a brown wolf appeared to their right and a grey one to their left, and from straight ahead, a tall blond guy, no older than 30. Jessa waited for Derek's move, not wanting to do something that would interrupt some plan he was forming. But Derek didn't move; he was staring at the man in front of them expectantly.

"Good evening." The man said, nodding his head to them, "Or maybe it would be more appropriate to say good morning." He smiled, but Jessa just growled at him quietly, her fur puffing out, make her look even more threatening. Derek flicked his tail at her, telling her to shut up. She stopped growling, but gave the man her meanest glare, which was a pretty good one since her eyes stood out against her black fur.

"I know how this looks," The man said putting his hands up in a sign of peace, "Sneaking up on you in a forest in the middle of the night, but we don't want to hurt you." Jessa did a mental eye roll; of course they didn't want to hurt them.

"I'm Ralph, by the way." The man said.

_Ralph,_ Jessa couldn't think of a creepier name to have.

"What do you want?" Chloe asked from behind them, in the thicket. Jessa was glad she did, because it wasn't like her or Derek could, what with them being wolves and all.

Ralph smiled a smile that was probably meant to reassure them, but it just made Jessa want to shudder, "Well, I want to avoid a fight, first off." He waved back the two wolves he came with, and in response they both laid on the ground, their fighting stances gone. "There, now you can relax a bit."

Jessa felt uneasy about letting her guard down and relaxing like the other wolves, but she took Derek's lead. He backed up, getting closer to the thicket and sat down. It wasn't as vulnerable as lying down, but it said that they had a truce for the moment and would wait to hear what Ralph had to say.

"What do you want?" Chloe asked again.

"Well a man came up to me a few weeks ago and said he had a job he wanted me to do." Ralph said, "And he said he wanted me to find you guys. He told me to bring him the girls named Chloe Saunders, Victoria Enright, and Jessa: Subject Number 47."

Jessa growled quietly at the usage of her subject number. She had left behind the days of people referring to her as an item instead of a person and she didn't like this man she didn't know calling her that. Derek flicked his tail at her again and she went quiet.

"Sorry, not going to happen." Tori said, and Jessa could hear the smirk in her voice.

"And that's what I was worried about." Ralph said, "This man promised to pay us a great reward if we brought the three of you in, and I'm not willing to lose that."

"Well, we're not going with you, so suck it up." Tori snapped.

"And that's why I brought my friends." He motioned to the brown and grey werewolves who were still laying the ground. "Now, I don't want to hurt you, but I'm not leaving without you three girls. I suppose that two of you are in the thicket, right? And I was told the third was a werewolf with bright green eyes, so I'm assuming that's you." He directed his assumption her way, and Jessa bared her teeth in a silent growl, bringing her glare up to full volume.

Ralph brushed off her reaction and continued. "Now we can do this the easy way or the hard way. The easy way being you three girls come with me and I will take you to the meeting place the man set up, and I promise not to hurt anyone. Or I can set my buddies on you and you can risk your friends getting hurt. And when we finally capture you, I'll take you to the place the man had set up.

"So please, decide amongst yourselves. I'm willing to wait." Ralph crossed his arms, and waited.

Jessa just sort of blinked. They wanted them to decide how they were going to be kidnapped? That had to be a new one. But it was a no brainer on what they were going to choose: secret option #3: fight and _not _get kidnapped.

Were they stupid? They had to be. It was obvious that the man who hired Ralph wanted to take them because of their powers. Only Tori and Chloe had out of control powers and Jessa just proved to be a success in her experiment (or as close to a success as you could get). Did they want Simon and Derek, the only normal ones? No. Who ever wanted them was either part of some lab that wanted to experiment on them, or a Cabal that wanted to use them. And none of them wanted to be tested on or used.

She looked at Derek, making sure that he came to the same conclusion as she had, and knew he had. He didn't want to risk Chloe's life, he wouldn't even think about it. He didn't trust Chloe's life in the hands of some werewolf, and he definitely wasn't going to let a lab or Cabal get their hands on her.

And so when they looked at each other, it wasn't to decide how they were going to be taken, but to decide how they were going to attack. Now, just because they were werewolves in wolf form, they didn't have some magical communication between them. In order to form a plan they had to gesture to each other and hoped the other understood.

Derek turned and went back to the others, on the pretense of choosing and option. Jessa didn't like putting her back to the werewolves, but she didn't have any other choice. Chloe, Tori, and Simon started a fake argument about trying to choose what they wanted while Derek tried to tell Jessa the plan.

He flicked his head discreetly away from the clearing, and kept doing that until she understood that he wanted to drive the werewolves away from the thicket the others were hiding in. That made sense since fighting was easier when you didn't have something to protect, something to handicap you. Jessa showed she understood then turned her head questioningly, how were they going to drive them away from their prize?

"Purple." Chloe whispered under her breath while Tori and Simon yelled at each other.

Jessa saw the genius in the idea, who wouldn't freak out at the sight of a stick running after them with no one holding it? The werewolves weren't necromancers; they wouldn't know that it was ghost. Even the strongest willed werewolf wouldn't stand their ground against something like that.

Jessa glanced at Purple, "I can do it." Purple said excitedly, "I'll scare the crap out of them." Jessa nodded slightly at Derek to let him know that Purple had agreed.

Then Derek met the eyes of the others, and they stopped pretending to fight. He gave them all a hard look, and then stamped his paw in the ground. _Stay here _he was saying. They all nodded, even if it was reluctantly. Then he moved his paw in a circular motion, and it took them a while to figure what he was saying, but finally Chloe wrote in the dirt: _build magical barriers? _Derek nodded.

And then Derek and Jessa turned and went back to the other werewolves, certain that they had done everything they could to protect their Pack.

"Did we choose?" Ralph asked, "I don't think I heard a decision."

A rock flew through the air and hit the ground at the feet of the grey wolf. The two wolves jumped to their feet and started looking around, trying to see who had thrown it, or smell or hear who had thrown it. But Jessa was smiling, knowing that they couldn't sense Purple, and she watched as they panicked as more and more rocks were thrown and as far as they could tell, they were flying through the air by their own free will.

"Don't panic," Ralph said, "They have a witch and a sorcerer over there, and they are merely casting spells."

"Uh, Mr. Werewolf Guy?" Tori chimed in, "In order to cast spells we have to speak incantations, and neither of us have said anything, as I'm sure you can hear." Tori could cast spells without speaking, but they didn't need to know that.

And then Purple started throwing sticks and rattling branches, and the three werewolves started to hop from one foot to the other, spinning wildly, unable figure out what was going on. And then Purple ran forward and slid like a baseball player would slide for a base, sending up a shower of dirt and dead leaves. The werewolves freaked and ran for it, and Derek and Jessa followed.

Ralph couldn't run as fast as the wolves could, so a hundred yards away they heard him split off and start to Change. Derek and Jessa left him alone, Purple was guarding the clearing and if he approached it, she would scare him off.

Derek had been right so many weeks ago when he had said that running was one of the best parts of being a wolf. Jessa zoomed through the vegetation around her, her padded feet making almost no noise at all. Adrenalin pounded through her veins, fear and the rush from running were fueling her earlier exhaustion from the Change.

It was insane what she could do as a wolf. She had to be running at record speeds, trees flashing by, one after another, becoming a blur of greenery. She didn't stumble, she didn't become disoriented, she just followed the sounds of the wolves in front of her, and if that didn't work she used her nose. Running, running, running. It was the best rush, and it all that could be heard as her and Derek chased the two wolves were the muffled sound of their paws and their heavy breathing. She felt like a ghost, a ghost in the forest, sneaking up on its prey, not making a sound.

And then their chase ended. The grey and brown wolves realized that they were running away from their goals, and needed to get back to the clearing. But first they had to deal with the problem known as Derek and Jessa.

The grey wolf hesitated at the sight of them but the brown one charged them, hoping to catch them off guard, which was a stupid thing to try. Jessa met the wolf head on, glad that the fighting was finally starting, her teeth grabbing the ruff of his neck and she threw him on the ground. The wolf twisted up quickly, taking her left foreleg in his mouth, causing her to fall. She wiggled away, trying to keep her vulnerable underbelly away from him. In her peripheral she could she Derek fighting with the grey wolf.

The brown wolf dove at Jessa, trying to get his mouth on the ruff of her neck, but she dodged him and bit hard on his foreleg. The wolf yelped in pain, and back peddled quickly. She tried to get a hold of his leg again, but he sank his teeth into her haunch and she growled, twisting away from him. He went for her foreleg again, she dodged and tried for his ruff, only to be bitten on her ear forcefully, the wolf's teeth coming uncomfortably close to her eyes.

Over and over again the two of them exchanged blows, each yelping with the other made a hit. She wasn't really paying attention to Derek's fight, even though at times the two fights converged and the four wolves were nothing but a growling mass of fur, but she could tell that Derek out matched the grey wolf, so she didn't need to worry about him.

Or at least she thought she didn't have to. But then she heard a loud painful yelp come from Derek. On instinct she glanced at his fight, worried. The grey wolf had one of Derek's rear legs in his jaw. With surprising amount of strength, the grey wolf swung his head and Derek flew into a tree, his head hitting it with a loud _thwack!_ Jessa waited for him to jump back up and continue fighting but Derek didn't move.

And then she was on the ground with the brown wolf on top of her, having caught her off guard. His mouth clamped around her neck, his teeth sinking in past her thick fur, biting into her skin. Jessa yelped but started shaking her head, hoping to dislodge him, but he held on firm. Then she felt teeth sink into the skin of her right side, they didn't do more than graze her through her fur, but she knew it meant that the grey wolf was attacking her now as well, having declared Derek no longer a threat.

She tried to wiggle free of the brown wolf's grip on her neck, but it was harder with the grey wolf's mouth trying to rip her stomach apart. But thankfully he was failing since she was not holding still, which meant he couldn't get a chance to get past her fur and his teeth doing nothing more than grazing her.

Jessa wiggled and jerked, trying to get free of the wolves, growling in frustration when she couldn't, the whole time worrying about Derek. Was he alive? Was he breathing? She didn't know, she couldn't see him from where she was lying on the ground.

And then a sudden jerk of hers caused the wolf's grasp on her neck to loosen and she jerked about wildly, her heart soaring with hope, trying to break free all the way. And she almost had it; the wolf was holding on only by her fur, she would be free in seconds. Then she felt another mouth clamp on her neck, and it gave a warning growl.

Jessa tried to see what had changed, and saw that a blond wolf was now helping the brown one to hold her down. It was Ralph, the man who was talking to them earlier, the one who had stopped running in order to Change, how had she forgotten about him? She couldn't have been so stupid, could she?

But she didn't have time to worry about that; what she needed to worry about now was her life. Ralph was adding his weight and his strength to holding her down, and Jessa couldn't move as freely as she could before, which meant she couldn't avoid the teeth that were digging into her side.

What were they doing? Weren't they supposed to be capturing her, not killing her? Jessa could only assume that she had made them mad enough to forget about the money or maybe the man had asked for all three of them, but had said if they couldn't get all of them, it wasn't too big a deal. Either way it didn't matter, because she was still in trouble.

Jessa yelped as the teeth pierced her skin, and she tried to wiggle away, to get free before they could dig any deeper, but Ralph had his weight on her and she couldn't budge. She yelped as the teeth dug deeper into her, getting a hold on her muscle, then she howled in pain as the wolf tore a huge chunk of her flesh out. She felt a river of warm blood spread over the side of her belly, and she yelped as the wolf continued to pull her flesh and muscle away from her body howling in pain as he dug deeper and deeper into her.

She couldn't do anything to stop him from tearing her to shreds, and she waited helplessly for her death to come.

And then, suddenly, the wolf was no longer there, no longer tearing her apart. Jessa caught a glimpse of black fur streaking through the air and then a loud thud and a yelp. The two wolves holding her down were caught off guard and she broke free from them. She saw Derek fighting the grey wolf, Derek having the upper hand, and relief coursed through her at knowing her friend was still alive.

Then she was charging the blond wolf. She really didn't like Ralph, and now that his help in the fight had almost killed her, she truly hated him. She leaped, pain lancing through her side, but she ignored it, her only thought was her target.

She landed on Ralph's back, his legs collapsing from her sudden weight. She latched her mouth on his neck, pushing past the fur and digger her teeth into his skin and muscle, getting a nice strong hold and then she wrenched her head sharply. A loud _crack! _filled the clearing, and everyone stopped what they were doing. Ralph stopped moving under her and was still instantly, not even breathing, his eyes staring at nothing.

Jessa clambered off of him, wondering if she should be glad that he was dead or scared that she had just killed someone. She looked at Derek, but he was watching the other two wolves. They were retreating, their heads down, tails between their legs. They were forfeiting, she realized, and as soon as they were out of the clearing they took of running, and she knew she wouldn't have to worry about them again.

Jessa stared stricken at Ralph. She had just killed someone; she was a murderer. Did she do the right thing? He was going to kill her, or at least try to; she had the right to fight back. But still, there was a difference between fighting and killing.

Derek snapped her out of her thoughts by coming up to her and nudging her head with his nose, telling her to stop worrying. Then he was walking around her, taking stock of her injuries. She knew the wound on her right side was serious; she could feel the blood leaking through her fur and the cool air chilling her open flesh. She could tell it deeply worried Derek, but the best he could do in this form was lick her wound to stop the bleeding, but this particular injury was too big for that to work.

Jessa brushed off his worry and started to examine him. He seemed fine, with a few wounds here and there. The most serious injury was on his right hind leg from when the grey wolf had thrown Derek into the tree. Jessa lowered her head and licked at the wound and soon the bleeding slowed and almost completely stopped.

Derek started licking at some wound on her neck and she found another injury on him and stopped the blood flow there. They spent the next few minutes checking each other out, licking each other's wounds, but Derek stayed clear of the gapping hole of missing flesh in Jessa's side because there was nothing he could do about that and any attempt of his would hurt like hell.

What they were doing wasn't in any way romantic. They were just friends help each other. What they were doing was instinct; you helped your fellow pack member, no matter what it was.

When they had done all they could to help each other Jessa turned to Ralph, lying dead in the middle of the clearing. He was just lying there, looking to all the world like he was asleep. But he wasn't; Jessa knew he wasn't. He was dead and she had killed him. She had _killed _him. She just sort of felt numb at the moment because she was pretty sure she was in shock. She didn't know how she was suppose to feel about what she had just done, but for now numb was good. Derek nudged her with his nose, telling her not to worry about it.

And then they started to head back to the others. They broke into a run, but after taking a couple strides Jessa knew she wasn't going to arrive to the thicket as fast as she thought she was. Pain exploded in her side at the sudden fast movement and she let out a yelp and slowed to a walking limp. Derek slowed, turned, and started to walk with her. Jessa nipped at him, telling him to get back to the others. He ignored her and kept walking, Jessa growled deep in her throat. Derek gave her a worried glance and then took off at a run, disappearing in seconds.

It was a long walk back, especially limping. It was different than running; because now she finally understood how deep into the woods they had come. Jessa walked, her head close to the ground, her breath coming in pants as exhaustion started to creep back in on her. Each step she took stung her side, but she had to keep going, she had to see with her own eyes that Simon and the others were safe before she could rest.

Her eyes drooped as the adrenalin and fear from earlier wore off. She had just made it through her Change and fought off three werewolves, Jessa was truly exhausted, plus she had lost a lot of blood, and was losing more with every beat of her heart. But despite that she dragged one foot in front of the other, limping her way back to the thicket. Back to Simon.

As she got closer to the clearing she could hear Derek talking to the others. How long had it taken her to walk back here? It would've taken Derek at least 15 minutes to Change back into a human. Was she really walking that slow? She gave a mental shrug; she didn't care. She couldn't understand what Derek was saying to the others, her brain couldn't process what he was saying, but she didn't care, what did it matter?

And then she was stumbling into the clearing where the thicket was located. She heard shouts at her appearance and she saw Simon running towards her. She felt her tired legs give out from under her, unable to carry her any farther, and she fell to the ground. She heard Derek telling Simon not to touch her wound, and then she heard Simon talking to her, but she couldn't understand what he was saying because the words were flowing out of his mouth too fast.

Then she felt strong arms lifting her off the ground and she let out a short howl of pain as the wound in her side twinged. She turned her head and met Derek's worried eyes as he started to carry her back to the house. Vaguely she wondered where he had gotten his clothes from, because he was fully dressed, but she didn't have time to expand on that thought before she lost consciousness.

**End of chapter 14.**

**So what did you guys think? Was it good? What did you guys think of the fight scene? What did you think of Derek and Jessa (don't worry, nothing romantic is going to happen)? Please, please, please review. I will love you forever.**

**Thanks- Cheerfully Blue**


	15. Chapter 15

**Okay, so it's about time I posted another chapter. Thanks once again to everyone who reviewed, I love you all and each review makes my day just a little brighter. Well, my school year has started so I'm not going to have as much time as I used to to write, but no worries, I will do my best to type as much and as fast as I possibly can. Well, here's Chapter 15, enjoy! And for those of you who read this when I first posted it about a day or two ago, I just wanted to tell you that I fixed the giant copy and paste error, I don't know how that happened, especially since I didn't copy and paste anything. And for those of you who didn't read it with the giant error in it: yay! At least I didn't look like an idiot to you. So enjoy the next chapter.**

**Disclaimer: Kelley Armstrong= beastly awesomeness. Me= Kinda cool nerd. It only makes sense that she owns it.**

Chapter 15: First Wait

**Simon's POV**

Simon ran through the forest and listened to Jessa's screams as he left her behind. Damn Derek, damn the werewolves, damn the scientists, damn everyone that had ever tried to hurt her or were keeping them apart as she died.

_As she died. _He couldn't even hold back the tears as he left his love behind to die a horrible death all by herself. He tried to keep his breathing even so it didn't affect his running, but at the same time he couldn't help but think that he was running away from the girl he loved right when she needed him the most.

She was dying. _"I can't do it. It hurts so much." _Her voice had stopped his heart, and so did the words. She couldn't be dying; it just didn't seem possible. But Simon had seen it in her eyes, had seen that she was defeated and couldn't go any farther. And when he saw that his heart just shriveled up and died right inside him.

Jessa's screams stopped suddenly and Simon's heart went to his mouth. Was she dead or was she just resting. Simon was sure he would know if Jessa had died, but still, the uncertainty killed him.

Tori stumbled over a branch, "Shit."

Simon shot her a glare, what did she think they were running from? Deaf sloth's? Why not just send up a warning flare saying where they were? He had not been forced away from Jessa to leave her to die just to have Tori ruin their get away, not that he really cared about their get away, all he really cared about was Jessa. He continued to follow the wolf in front of him, not really caring where he was going.

And then Derek was herding them into a thicket, thorns all around them. Simon was pushed into Tori and Chloe, and they all scooted around, trying to get comfortable. All he could hear was their heavy breathing as it filled the space around them. Then Jessa's screams pierced the air again, and even though they tugged at his heart painfully, he knew they meant that she was still alive and he breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

And after continuing for a while the the screams stopped, and Simon waited and waited to hear them start up again, but they didn't. He wasn't sure how much time had passed, but he knew that Jessa should have been done resting by now and should be continuing her Change. But she remained quiet, and that only meant one thing.

Tears filled Simon's eyes knowing that Jessa was now dead. His chest seemed to crumble within him as pain he had never known before filled his heart. She was dead. She was dead, she was dead, she was dead. Grief he had never known filled him and he gasped for air feeling like he was about to puke. She was dead and he would never again laugh with her, never again stroke her hair as he held her in his arms, never again watch her sprawl around in her sleep, never ever again.

He had never known pain like this, and it killed him. He loved her and now she was gone and all he could do was wish that he had gone with her.

He looked at Tori and Chloe, and they both had tears in their eyes, having drawn the same conclusion as he had about Jessa. Chloe reached forward and took his hand in hers. Simon squeezed her hand hard, swallowing a sob, trying to stay as quiet as he could so he didn't give away their position. Tears ran down his face, and he waited for this terrible night to end.

Then he saw Chloe's head snap up as if she had heard something and she gave a tiny gasp. Simon lifted his head and looked out of the thicket and saw two black wolves, one of them Derek and one of them an outsider that was walking towards them. It walked right past Derek, it's tail brushing his body, and he didn't even try to stop it.

And then he was staring the strange wolf in the face and the wolf stared back at him with bright green eyes. Jessa's eyes. It was her! She was alive! Joy exploded in his chest and Simon threw his arms around Jessa, burying his head and hands in her fur, only to pull back to look in her eyes, to make sure that it was really her.

"I thought you were dead." He whispered shakily, looking deeply into her eyes, so unbelievably overjoyed by seeing her alive. She rubbed her head against him, her cold wet nose meeting his neck.

She was alive, she was with him and she was alive. Oh, thank God, or whatever higher being was up there, thank you, thank you, thank you.

Simon heard Derek growl form outside the thicket, and with one last look at him, Jessa turned and went to stand by his brother.

Simon looked at them standing beside each other. They both had black fur, but when they stood beside each other you could tell their coats weren't the same color. Derek's fur was pitch black, as black as you could get. Jessa's fur had a sort of bluish tent to it, you couldn't tell it when she was by herself, but when she stood next to Derek it was easy to tell them apart.

Some sort of message was exchanged between Derek and Jessa when Jessa took a step towards the edge of the clearing they were in, then drew back to her original position.

And then two wolves appeared, followed by a man.

The man started to talk, introduced himself as Ralph and then basically said that he was going to kidnap Chloe, Tori, and Jessa. Simon tried not to laugh; was the guy stupid? He really thought they were just going to hand themselves over?

Jessa and Derek walked back to the others. Derek gave Simon a hard glance. It said they didn't plan on choosing one of the two options Ralph provided, so that meant that Derek and Jessa needed to make a plan without the other werewolves knowing about it. The only way to do that: distract them. Closing his eyes briefly, Simon said, "I think we should listen to him." Basically saying that he wanted to hand over Tori, Chloe, and Jessa.

"What?" Tori shrieked, causing him to wince, "Have you gone insane?"

Simon gave Tori a hard look, trying to make her understand, but thank God Chloe caught on fast and said fiercely, "I think Simon's just trying to save his own butt." Chloe mouth 'sorry' at him, then she wrote _play along _in the dirt and Tori finally understood.

"Yeah," Tori agreed harshly, smiling, enjoying it, "let the girls take the fall. It doesn't matter as long as King Simon is just fine."

Simon glared at her but kept going on with the charade; kept going until Jessa and Derek seemed to have everything figured out. Derek gave them all a hard glance, then stamped his foot on the ground. The message was clear: _stay here. _Then he started to get another message through, but no one could understand it until Chloe wrote, _build_ _magical barriers? _in the dirt so the other werewolves wouldn't hear. Derek nodded then he and Jessa turned and walked away from the thicket.

Simon wasn't really sure what their plan was, but he figured that Derek and Jessa would take care of everything.

"Did we choose?" Ralph, the leader of the other werewolves asked, "I don't think I heard a decision."

Rocks started to pelt the werewolves, and Simon knew it was Purple, but he couldn't figure out why she was throwing stuff.

The wolves started to get jumpy. "Don't panic," Ralph said to the other two, "They have a witch and a sorcerer over there, and they are merely casting spells."

"Uh, Mr. Werewolf Guy?" Tori chimed in from beside Simon, "In order to cast spells we have to speak incantations, and neither of us have said anything, as I'm sure you can hear."

Simon smirked. As branches started to rattle and more rocks came flying out of nowhere, the werewolves looked more and more scared. Then a line of rocks and dirt sprouted up into the air causing all of them but Chloe to jump; Simon could imagine Purple sliding like a baseball player towards a base.

Then the werewolves took off running, and Jessa and Derek shot off after them, and in seconds, the clearing outside the thicket was empty.

This was Derek and Jessa's plan the whole time: drive the threat away from them. Duh, why else would Derek specifically tell them to stay here? Simon shook his head amazed at his own stupidity.

After they set the magical barriers up, they settled down in the thicket and waited.

There was nothing worse than waiting. Nothing worse than wondering if the ones you loved were okay and being unable to find out. Simon didn't dare disobey Derek's orders and leave the clearing to search for them; Derek knew what he was doing and Simon was sure that he would get in the way if he tried to help. So he did the best he could do to help: wait patiently.

Well, patiently was exaggerating it a bit, he was worried about Jessa. She had looked fine when he last saw her, but she should have been exhausted after completing the Change. He figured that she was running on adrenalin and wondered how long that would last. Would it be harder for her to fight? Probably.

And he had no doubt that she was fighting those other wolves now, and he prayed that she would be okay, he prayed that her and Derek would come back okay. He had just lost Jessa; he couldn't handle losing her again or losing his brother.

And after what seemed like forever, something breached the perimeter spells, causing a mental alarm system to go off inside of Simon's head. Purple said it was Derek, having gone and checked, and after removing the barrier spells, Derek made his way over to them, still a wolf. He looked fine, but what worried Simon was that he didn't have Jessa with him.

"Where's Jessa?" Simon asked as he walked over to them. Derek pointed his nose in the direction he had just come from.

"Is she okay?" Simon asked. Derek hesitated before nodding awkwardly, like his head wasn't made for doing something like that.

Simon turned and started to head in the direction Derek had pointed, intending to go find her, but Derek stepped in front of him, telling him to stay.

Giving a frustrated sigh, Simon started waiting yet again for Jessa to return while Derek went and Changed. Chloe, who had been smart and brought Derek's clothes with her, gave them to him so he didn't have to walk around naked.

And then Derek was back and Jessa still hadn't returned. Where was she? What was taking her so long? Simon paced back and forth, glancing in the direction Derek had come from when he had returned to the clearing.

"What happened?" Chloe asked gently as Derek sat himself against a tree, looking tired, small wounds and bruises covering his body.

"We ran them off." He said gruffly.

"How'd you manage that one?" Tori asked, "They seemed hell bent on getting us."

Derek paused a second then said quietly, "Jessa killed one -the man, Ralph- only he had Changed, so he was a wolf, not a man. The other two got scared and ran off."

No one said anything for a few heartbeats, shocked at the thought of Jessa killing.

"Where is she?" Simon asked, worried about how she would react to what she did, "Is she hurt? Is she all right? Why isn't she here?"

"They tried to kill her." Derek said quietly, gazing out into the forest, and Simon was unsure if he was looking for Jessa or if he was lost in a memory, "Almost did until I stopped them. She's hurt. Bad. But she wanted me to run ahead to you guys and I thought she could make it back here on her own. She must be worse than I thought."

Simon's heart missed a beat. Jessa was hurt. She was hurt bad. She was hurt bad enough for Derek to be worried. He had to find her.

And then Jessa was there, right across the clearing. She stumbled through the bushes, her footing clumsy, which was a bad sign; werewolves were never clumsy. And then Simon saw the gapping hole in her side where her ribs were located. It was huge, her fur was thorn away and her skin was hanging off her body in shreds, blood was seeping out of it, dripping off her fur and Simon could see muscle and fat and even some bones peeking out.

He ran to her as she fell to the ground.

"Jessa?" He went to his knees beside her, looking into her unfocused eyes, "Jessa can you hear me? Jessa, you're going to be okay, okay? Nothing is bad is going to happen." He started to reach for her wound, shouldn't they stop the bleeding, but Derek stopped his hands.

"Don't touch her. We need to get her back to the house so Aunt Lauren can look at her."

Simon nodded and started to talking to Jessa again, her dazed eyes said she wasn't taking it all in, "Jessa? We're going to take you back to the house, okay? Aunt Lauren is going to take care of you. Everything is going to be all right, okay?" Why was it that when he was nervous started to end most of his sentences as questions?

Derek knelt to the ground and, as gently as possible, he lifted her into his arms. Jessa gave a howl of pain, and Simon felt his chest tighten. Derek took off walking, moving as fast as he could while trying not jostle Jessa too much. Simon had trouble keeping up in the dark forest, and he was amazed at a his brother's ability to caring a 120 pound wolf in his arms and still walk through undergrowth without falling.

"She blacked out." Derek said, and Simon hurried his pace to see Jessa's unconscious head hanging over Derek's arm.

"Derek?" He asked quietly, almost running to keep up with him. His brother looked at him, but Simon couldn't see his face in the dark, "Is she going to be okay?"

They passed under a patch of moonlight, and Simon could see his brother's face and the worry showing clearly on it. That alone answered his question. Derek didn't show his worry, ever. And when he did it was only when he was really _really _worried.

"I don't know." Derek said, looking down at Jessa.

Simon looked at her too, and he watched as she started to stir in Derek's arms, yelping as her wound hurt.

"Don't move." Derek told her firmly, and Jessa complied instantly, and stopped moving.

"Jessa?" The one eye Simon could see turned on him, "Can you hear me?" She snorted lightly, and he assumed that was a yes. "We're taking you back to the house so Aunt Lauren can look at you. Everything is going to be okay, all right?"

She just snorted again then closed her eyes, keeping herself very still in Derek's arms. Simon wasn't practiced when it came to reading wolf faces, so he wasn't sure if Jessa was just tired, or if she was in pain. It was when Derek stepped in a dip in the ground that he couldn't see and Jessa yelped and whimpered that Simon assumed it was the latter.

It took longer than Simon wanted to get back to the house, and when they did, Jessa was breathing heavily. Aunt Lauren and his dad must've been watching from the back door because they flung it open when they got close.

Aunt Lauren took one look at Jessa and started barking orders. "Derek, take her into the living room, put her on the floor. Chloe, get blankets and towels. Tori, get my medical bag from my room. Kit, get warm water, warm not hot. Simon, you come with me." She snapped her fingers and took off after Derek as he went to put Jessa in the living room, Simon behind her.

Jessa whimpered as Derek lowered her to the ground.

"Simon," Aunt Lauren pushed him towards Jessa's head, "Keep her calm."

He got to his knees beside Jessa, as out of the way as he could get and started to gently stroke the fur around her eyes. They opened and Jessa's green eyes looked at him. They looked so tired and so painful that Simon wished he could just heal it all and make her better.

"Hey," He said quietly to her, "I'm right here, I'm not going to leave you." Jessa just continued to stare at him.

He rubbed her ears, and Jessa closed her eyes, giving a shuddering sigh of content through her nose. Simon smiled, and ran his fingers through the fur of her ruff, surprised at how soft it was underneath. Jessa made a noise that sounded like the wolf equivalent of a purr, and Simon laughed quietly. She opened her eyes and looked at him, looking as calm as can be. She moved her head and nuzzled his leg, her forehead pressing against his knee. He wasn't sure what that meant in wolf speak, but he was almost positive it was good.

By then Tori had returned with Aunt Lauren's bag and Chloe had a huge stack of towels, and his dad was bringing in a large bowl of warm water.

"Jessa, sweety?" Aunt Lauren knelt on the ground in Jessa'a eye range, and Jessa moved her head weakly to look at her, "I'm not going to lie, this is going to hurt, okay? But what I'm doing is important, so you can't move, okay? Everything is going to be all right, hon, I know what I'm doing." Simon tried to ignore the fact that Aunt Lauren was a doctor and not a vet.

Simon could tell Jessa was starting to panic again and he bent his head and moved his mouth to her ear, whispering, "I'm right here Jessa, okay? Aunt Lauren says she knows what she's doing. And even if it does hurt, it will be nothing compared to your Change." He rubbed behind her ear soothingly, "You'll be fine. I know you will. You're strong and tough and can do anything and that's why I love you."

He pulled back and continued to rub behind her ear. Her eyes looked like she was about to cry and Simon knew he had said the right thing.

"Derek, try to hold her down, will you?" Aunt Lauren's voice drifted back to him. Derek did as he was told, putting his arms on Jessa's legs so they didn't go flailing about.

Then Aunt Lauren started to clean Jessa's wound. It must have hurt like hell because Jessa was yelping and keening and whimpering trying to move away from Aunt Lauren, which Derek and his dad prevented by holding her down. Simon just kept talking to her like he did during the Change, rubbing her ears and her neck but after an extremely loud yelp, Jessa passed out, her eyes rolling back into her head. Even though it scared Simon, he supposed it was best that she didn't go through all that pain.

Blood was everywhere, on the carpet, on the towels, on Derek, Simon, his dad, and Aunt Lauren. It made Simon wonder just how much blood Jessa had lost and how much she could stand to lose without losing too much. As if reading his mind, Aunt Lauren started an IV drip, not as good as a blood transfusion, but good enough, Jessa needed to get fluids into her body. Simon wasn't really sure where she was keeping all this medicine at, but at the moment he didn't care as long as it worked.

Then Aunt Lauren took out a thread and needle, ready to stitch Jessa up.

"You can't do that." Derek said, as soon as he saw.

Aunt Lauren gave him a questioning look.

"She's going to Change back once she has enough strength." He explained, "If you put stitches in now, they'll just rip out and bleed more."

"When will she Change back?" Aunt Lauren asked.

Derek shrugged, "When she's ready. Could be a few hours from now."

Aunt Lauren sighed heavily and closed her eyes, and Simon remembered she hadn't slept at all that night; she was probably running low on energy.

"Okay, we'll bandage her up real tight and let her sleep, then when she Change's we'll stitch her up." And with that Aunt Lauren preceded to wrap a mile's worth of gauze around Jessa's mid-section so tight Simon wondered how Jessa could breathe.

Then Derek, being careful not to dislodge the IV, lifted Jessa up onto the couch. Everyone watched her sleeping form for a moment then his dad asked what had happened.

After they had explained everything to the adults, Simon finally asked, "Is she going to be okay?"

Aunt Lauren studied Jessa from a distance, a frown on her face, "I don't know. She's lost a lot of blood, and I know werewolves a hardier than humans, but still I'm worried. If she were a human she should already be dead, but she's not. And I'm used to treating humans; I have no idea how different a werewolf's body is from a human's. I don't know it's limits or how much medicine to give them. I'm guessing here." Aunt Lauren paused, tapping her finger to her chin,

"I'm wondering if we should try and give her some of Derek's blood, but the chances of them having the same blood type are slim. And even if they do, they've both been experimented on and the chances of Jessa's body rejecting Derek's blood would be much higher than average, which would normally stop me from considering it, but under the circumstances…"

So they checked Derek and Jessa's blood type, Derek's: A positive. Jessa's: B negative. There went that idea.

So they just waited.

Simon felt like he had been waiting all night. He had been waiting for Jessa's Change to start, then he had been waiting for Jessa's Change to end, then he was waiting for the werewolves to catch them while Jessa was dying, then had been waiting for Jessa and Derek to come back from the fight. He had waited for so much to happen that night, and he just didn't feel like waiting anymore. But there was nothing he could do. Fate just wasn't on his side.

He had already lost Jessa once that night; he didn't want to lose her again. But he could feel the same dread he had felt when she had told him she couldn't go any farther with her Change creeping over him. She could die, she could die right there in front of him, right after he had thought she would live and everything would be okay. He wanted to do something - anything. But, of course, all he could do was wait.

**Well? What do you think? The first and only chapter that was entirely in Simon's point of view, let me know what you thought of it. Not sure when the next chapter will come, I'm already halfway done with it, but that doesn't really mean too much. Hope you all enjoyed it. Please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please review. Please. I went to all that trouble to type all those please's the least you could do is thank me by reviewing... please.**

**Thanks- Cheerfully Blue**


	16. Chapter 16

**Sorry it took me a while to post this chapter. I was bitten by the fanfiction bug, but it made me want to read not type. So after spending about a week and a half reading I finally started typing this chapter, and today I finished it. So here is the chapter that you find out what happens to Jessa. I hope you all enjoy it. And if you can't already tell, my story is coming to a close and this will be the last chapter, aside from and epilogue. So there will be a bit more after this.**

**Disclaimer: If you still don't understand after the first 15 chapters I suppose I will say it again: I don't own The Darkest Powers series.**

Chapter 16: First Certainty

Jessa tried her best not to moan and groan in pain as Derek carried her back to the house in his arms. She had two reasons. The first being that Derek was trying to be a smooth as possible with his movements and any noise in complaint she made would just cause Derek to blame himself, something neither of them really wanted or needed.

The second reason was that Simon was walking right next to Derek. Maybe the danger had passed with the wolves gone, but still she felt the need to protect him. He would hurt every time she hurt, and she didn't want to hurt him. So she held herself still in Derek's arms, because every move she made sent pain running through her body.

Derek was talking to her as he walked, his voice pitched so low that only Jessa could hear him, "I don't know how bad it is, Jessa." He said honestly, and even though her eyes were closed, she could sense that he was looking at her, or more specifically the burning wound in her side. "You're losing a lot of blood and it's deeper than just a flesh would, your muscles are exposed and so are some of your bones. I'm worried."

_Wonderful, _she thought, but she knew why Derek was telling her this. There was nothing worse than not was going on with your own body. Nothing worse than thinking you were dying and really it was nothing more than a scratch. Nothing worse than assuming it was nothing but a scratch when actually you were in danger of losing your life and taking every last moment you have for granted.

Jessa wasn't ignorant enough to assume her injury was just a scratch, she knew that her life was fading. She could feel a sort of numbness starting to creep over her, a fog forming in her head, but she held it back, refusing to give up now.

Then Derek tripped, jostling her in his arms and Jessa let out a howl of pain, but she cut it off so it only sounded like a yelp. It felt so weird to be in wolf form. When she expected to scream, she got a yelp or a howl, it made her want to laugh for some reason that was beyond her capability to understand at the moment.

The trip through the woods passed by as a blur of pain, worry, fear, and a severe test of will.

And then for some reason Aunt Lauren and Kit were suddenly there and she was being carried through the house in Derek's arms, Simon trailing behind them. And then she was being lowered to the floor of the living room and she couldn't hold back the whimper she let out as her side lanced with pain. The world sort of went out of focus around her and she closed her eyes, trying to ignore the burning.

And then she felt Simon's presence close to her, and his fingers were stroking the fur around her eyes soothingly. She opened them and stared into his dark brown ones, so full of love and kindness, it eased some of the pain she felt.

"Hey," He said quietly, "I'm right here, I'm not going to leave you." She knew he wasn't, Simon would never leave her unless he was dragged away from her, and that's what she loved about him.

His fingers moved to her ears and they started to rub them, like she was a pet dog. She wondered if she should feel insulted, but it just felt so wonderful that she didn't care. Closing her eyes she got lost in the warmth of his fingers and the circular movement they made. She gave a shuddering sigh of content. Then he moved his hand to her neck and started to run his fingers through her fur there and she felt the pain fade away as her entire body focused on his fingers in her fur. She made some sort of sound in her throat that, had she not been hypnotized by Simon, would have probably embarrassed her.

She heard Simon laugh at her quietly and opened her eyes. He was smiling at her; looking at her with so much emotion she wished she could tell him that she loved him. But her current form prevented verbal communication, so instead she moved her head and nuzzled his leg, pressing her forehead into his knee.

And then Aunt Lauren popped her happy bubble, "Jessa, sweety?" The words floated into her brain rather lazily, the feel of Simon's fingers slowing her thoughts. She moved her head to look at her, "I'm not going to lie, this is going to hurt, okay?" Aunt Lauren said, "But what I'm doing is important, so you can't move, okay? Everything is going to be all right, hon, I know what I'm doing." She was a doctor! Jessa was a wolf! How the hell did she know what she was doing? Oh, God, she didn't want it to hurt anymore, she was done with hurting, she just wanted to fall asleep and forget this night ever happened.

Then Simon's mouth was by her ear, his breath blowing warm air on her fur, "I'm right here Jessa, okay? Aunt Lauren says she knows what she's doing. And even if it does hurt, it will be nothing compared to your Change." He started to rub behind her ear soothingly, "You'll be fine. I know you will. You're strong and tough and can do anything and that's why I love you."

Jessa wasn't really sure if she could cry in this form, but she felt like she was close to doing so. Simon's words melted all her fears away, because some how he had the power to change her emotions just by speaking to her, just by saying simple words.

"Derek, try and hold her down, will you?" Aunt Lauren's voice flittered into her head. She felt Derek put his arms on her legs to prevent her from clawing someone's eye out when Aunt Lauren started in on her.

The Change had felt like a deep burn coursing through her, transforming everything it its path. But when Aunt Lauren cleaned her wound all she could feel was a horrid stinging. It hurt so much, and try as she might she couldn't hold back the whimpers and the yelps and the God awful keening sound she kept involuntarily making, causing her to sound like an injured puppy. But Simon was there the whole time and she did her best to focus her tired mind on him. And then she felt Aunt Lauren's hand move a piece of shredded skin aside and she started to clean a deeper part of her wound.

It felt like someone had poured boiling saltwater onto her exposed insides; it stung and burned like nothing she had ever felt before. Jessa gave a loud involuntary yelp, and for the second time that night, everything went black around her.

**Simon's POV**

Simon sat in a recliner by the couch Jessa was sleeping on. He didn't sleep; he refused to do so, even though the sky had long since started to brighten. The sun peek at him mockingly from over the tree tops, reminding him he hadn't slept. And even though he body screamed for rest, his eyes leading the protest, he still forced himself to remain awake.

He shifted in the chair for the hundredth time, moving his legs out from under him, stretching them out, and moved his chin to the palm of his propped up hand. He continued his vigil, watching Jessa like her life depended on it.

He didn't want to leave. He didn't want to leave the room or to fall asleep because then he would be breaking a promise he had made to her. He had said he wouldn't leave, and she had believed him, had trusted him; he wasn't going to break that trust.

So he watched the blue-black wolf that was Jessa, her chest rising and falling, her feet and ears twitching with the dreams she was having. It was so easy to think that nothing was wrong, that she had simply fallen asleep on the couch while in wolf form; so easy to believe, if it hadn't been for the stark white bandage wrapped around her that was slowly turning red.

How much blood was she losing? How much had she already lost? Simon wasn't sure if he wanted to know because the truth could scare him. The bandage wasn't doing its job, it was supposed to stop bleeding, and it had seemed it was working for a while, until red had started to blossom on it. Jessa needed stitches, she needed a lot of stitches, but they couldn't give them to her, not now. She was still a wolf, she had to Change back, and if they gave her stitches now, she would just pull them out when she Changed, making an even bigger mess. So they waited.

Jessa had to rest up in order for her to Change. Derek had estimated she would need to sleep a few hours to allow her body to recharge enough from the ordeal she had been through that night to Change back. But while she was resting she was losing more blood, making her weaker. And still if she rested too long she could lose too much blood and she would die. So some how Jessa's body was going to have rest while she was steadily losing blood, and she had to gain enough energy for her to Change _before _she bled to death.

Simon tried not to think about it, but that was all he could think about while he watched over her. He had tried drawing, but he nerves were to jumbled up to handle it, and he had tried reading, but he had never been much of a reader, so in the end he had settled for just watching her as hours passed by.

He wasn't the only one who didn't want to leave Jessa. Tori was fast asleep in a chair across the room, and Derek and Chloe were curled up with each other in a loveseat, both of them sound asleep. He wasn't really sure where his dad and Aunt Lauren were, they just sort of faded out of the room and Simon wasn't about to leave Jessa to go look for them.

But the others had left the room before. They had showered and changed clothes, grabbed something to eat, before ending up where they were now. Simon brushed off all their subtle suggestions that he should do the same; he wasn't leaving Jessa.

And so he sat there, waiting for Jessa to wake up and Change or die.

* * *

Some time later his dad came into the room. His dark hair was plastered down on one side, a tell-tale sign that he had been asleep. He looked surprised when he saw Simon was awake, then not so surprised when he remembered that his son and Jessa had a very deep relationship.

"You need to sleep, son." His dad said, coming to stand beside him.

"I don't want to." Simon mumbled, his voice garbled by the fingers blocking his mouth.

"She'll be fine Simon, she probably won't even wake up for another hour or two. I'll watch over her and you can sleep." His dad's voice was kind and warm and completely tempting. He really was tired; more tired than he had ever remembered being, and it seemed his eyes just couldn't stay open.

But Simon forced them to, "What if something happens?" Simon asked quietly, his eyes not leaving the sleeping wolf in front of him.

"Then I will wake you up." His dad said simply.

Simon bit his lip, what if his dad fell asleep and something happened and no one knew? What if Jessa died and he was asleep? What if Jessa woke up and found that he had fallen asleep and hated him forever for it? Simon sighed, anything could happen.

Then his dad said the words that Simon couldn't refuse. "Trust me."

And Simon trusted his dad more than anyone. His dad had rescued Derek and gave him a brother, his dad had kept him and Derek safe all their lives, and even when they had been in danger with the Lyle House his dad had done everything to find them again.

So Simon nodded and slid down into the chair, moving his head so he could still see Jessa, then closed his eyes and fell asleep.

* * *

He opened his bleary eyes, and blinked, trying to remember what had woken him. Then Simon heard a high-pitched yelp, and sat up to find Jessa, still in wolf form, awake and convulsing on the couch.

Simon scrambled out of the chair he had been sleeping in. His dad was talking to Jessa frantically, while trying to avoid her flailing limbs. Simon went to her, he started rubbing her ears and shoulders, talking to her, trying to calm her down, but he doubted it was working since he couldn't even hear himself over her howling.

Jessa's fangs flashed as she snarled and twisted on the couch, all the muscles in her body shifting and Changing. Simon tried to hold her still, all that moving around wasn't good for her wound, but her paws were flying everywhere with each spasm, warding him off. He was about to get his eye clawed out, he reflexes not fast enough to move out of the way, when Derek came out of nowhere and pulled him away from Jessa's flailing limbs.

"Thanks." Simon breathed, happy that he still had both eyeballs in his head.

Derek just grunted and moved in to try and hold Jessa still, but before he could get a good hold on her, Jessa's body gave a sudden jerk, sending her tumbling onto the floor with a thud. The sound that escaped Jessa's mouth then was indescribable. She was Changing and her vocal cords were somewhere in between a wolf's and a girl's, and the sound she produced didn't sound right; but that didn't stop it from chilling Simon to the bone.

She writhed on the floor, her body looking like a fish out of water as an alien keening escaped her mouth. Simon heard Aunt Lauren shouting orders he couldn't process because his brain was a step behind the action, still muddled with sleep.

But he had to get his head working straight; Jessa needed him.

Already he could see the girl he loved coming back to him as he knelt down next her head. Her muzzle was shortening, her ears were shifting downwards, and the fur all over her body was thinning and shortening while the fur on her head was becoming softer and lengthening. He stayed beside her as Derek held her down and Aunt Lauren and his dad undid the bandage around her mid-section, since it was hard enough to go from a wolf to girl without having a skin tight gauze wrapped around you.

Simon's heart was in his throat as he watched Jessa Change back, her screams piercing him like he never thought anything could, but he couldn't do anything. He couldn't even whisper words into her ear like he would normally do because she was flailing too much and getting that close would result with getting clawed or accidentally bitten since Jessa couldn't control what her body was doing at the moment and Derek wouldn't let Simon get close for fear that his brother would get hurt. So Simon could only watch as Jessa slowly transformed into herself from two feet away from him; and maybe that wasn't very far, but to Simon it felt like miles because his place was _right _beside her, not two feet away.

And finally it was over, Jessa's screams fading into whimpers as she lay on the floor shivering, covered in blood and sweat. Simon scrambled to her side, pushing her sweat soaked hair away from her ghostly white face. She was so pale, like all the blood had been drained from her body (a more than accurate description, he thought), he had never seen someone so white, the blue maze work of her veins was clearly visible beneath her marble skin.

She opened her eyes, huge dark circles of exhaustion painted below them; add that with the pain that seemed to be permanently tattooed into her gaze, and Simon wondered if she would ever recover fully from what had happened that night.

"Hey," He whispered softly, wiping away sweat from her forehead, stroking her eyelids at the same time because he knew she loved it when he did that. And he was glad when she closed her eyes and a small smile pulled at her chapped lips; it lightened his heart.

But then the small smile turned to a grimace and a whimper escaped her. He looked up to find Aunt Lauren already cleaning Jessa's wound again. It shocked him, the bright red blood on Jessa's pale skin, and the size of her injury. The wound had looked deadly on her as a wolf but as a human it looked far more worse.

Huge hunks of skin, muscle, and fat were missing from Jessa's stomach and ribs area, blood spilling over onto her pale skin, bones and fat showing, how could anyone survive something like this?

"Tori," Aunt Lauren looked up from Jessa's injury, "Hand me those blankets over there."

Tori turned and quickly went to retrieve the blankets Aunt Lauren was referring to. Aunt Lauren gently laid one blanket on Jessa's legs, covering everything from the belly button down. Then she took the other blanket and folded it in half and covered Jessa's chest with it, leaving only her head, neck, arms, and wound exposed.

Had Simon known his girlfriend was lying on the ground naked in front of him? Um, kind of hard to miss. So yes, he had seen everything, but at the moment he was preoccupied with more pressing matters. Like the fact that said girlfriend was endanger of dying.

Simon rubbed Jessa's arms, her skin feeling so cold, trying to bring life back into her pale shivering limbs. She whimpered again, Simon avoided looking at what they were doing to her, but continued to try and warm her up, whispering non-sense to her. It didn't matter, she passed out again within minutes of the reversal of her Change.

"She needs blood." Aunt Lauren stated, and Simon glanced up and saw her working on sewing Jessa back together, "I don't care how strong this girl is, her body won't survive much longer unless we get blood into her." And that was the problem. Supernaturals bodies wouldn't take human blood; it had to be blood from their own kind. Sorcerers needed sorcerer blood; witches needed witch blood; half-demons needed half-demon blood; so on and so forth. But Derek's and Jessa's blood types didn't match up, they already knew that, so his blood was out of the question, which meant so was a blood transfusion.

"Could Chloe's blood work?" Tori asked. Simon's head shot up to look at his half-sister. "She's part necro, right?" Tori looked at everyone looking at her, uncertain, "Could it work?"

Of course it could work, or at least Simon hoped it would. Why hadn't he thought of that? He had just been too caught up in the drama involving Jessa's Change and her being hurt to remember that she was part necromancer. Whatever those scientists did to her, they hadnsome how managed to make Jessa part necro, and hopefully also making her able to accept necromancer blood.

Derek started testing Chloe's blood while his dad and Aunt Lauren continued to work on fixing Jessa up. Simon just was in a small state of shock. He didn't really know what to do. He just knelt next to Jessa's unconscious head, his hand running over the skin of her arms, face, and neck out of habit, hoping beyond hope that Chloe was born with the right blood type, because if she wasn't Jessa was dead and there was nothing he could do about it.

And finally, Chloe's blood test was finished. Her blood type: B negative, just like Jessa's. The entire room breathed a sigh of relief, and his dad hooked Chloe up to a blood bag, letting it fill as Aunt Lauren put the finishing touches on Jessa's wound.

And then they hooked the halfway filled bag of Chloe's blood to Jessa's arm, trying to get blood in her as fast as possible. Another bag was hooked on to Chloe to fill; Derek's arm was around her as they sat on the couch, talking to each other to try and ignore the fact that Chloe was giving away her blood. Simon cradled Jessa's head in his lap, brushing his fingers across her pale face as more and more blood was put into her.

When Aunt Lauren declared that Chloe had given as much blood as she could, they all watched as the red liquid slowing made it's way out of the bag, through the tube, and into Jessa's body. Chloe was lying on the couch, her head in Derek's lap, her breathing somewhat labored from the loss of so much blood. They quickly filled her with sugars and liquids, which reminded everyone that Simon hadn't eaten anything for God knows how long and that his blood sugar was low from the lack of food and the night's stress.

So that sent Derek and his dad into a frenzy, and Simon shut them up quickly by eating some food and shooting himself with insulin. But he did have to admit he felt a little bit better afterwards.

They all waited. They waited to see if Jessa's body would accept Chloe's donated blood or if her being part werewolf would cause her to reject the blood, her own blood cells attacking the foreign ones, thinking they were saving her from an invasion when really they were killing her.

Simon was in a numb state, unable to do anything but wait and wait and wait as Jessa slept on, unaware of the worried people around her.

The first good sign they received was Jessa's pale skin regaining some color. Her veins became less prominent underneath her skin, giving her a healthier look.

The second sign was when she made a weird sound in her throat, and her legs twitching. She was having a dream. That was a really good sign, It showed that she was alive enough to go into the deep sleep that caused dreams.

And finally the best sign of all was when she woke up.

It was hours after they had given Jessa Chloe's blood, late in the afternoon. Nobody really did anything in the hours between, all of them being too worried about Jessa. They had moved her back on the couch and dressed her in one of Derek's huge shirts. Simon sat in the same recliner from earlier, his eyes never leaving the sleeping girl in front of him.

The danger zone had passed hours ago, and Aunt Lauren was sure that Jessa was going to recover, now that her body had more blood. But still Simon worried on the off chance that the blood could still be rejected.

He was thinking about apples when Jessa stirred in front of him. He was out of the chair in a heartbeat, kneeling by her side, her hand in his. Her skin looked and felt normal now, that pallor from before gone, along with the cold. He wanted too much to believe that everything would be alright; but after a night like the last, he knew all too well that even though she survived something, that didn't mean something else wouldn't attack her and threaten to take her away from him.

Her eyes slowly opened, revealing their bright green color to the world. They stared into his with great intensity.

They were so bright and so full of love and happiness, that when she whispered his name to him softly and squeezed his hand gently all he doubts vanished. The look in her eyes alone was enough to let him know that everything was going to be okay.

**Awwww... Isn't true love just adorable? So, what do you think? Good, not good, unbelievably horrid? Tell me your opinions because I'm all ears here. Please review.**

**Thanks- Cheerfully Blue**


	17. Chapter 17

**Well, here's the last posting of A Werewolf In The Making. I hope you all love how it concludes, I'm worried I didn't get it right, but I'm always worried about not getting it right. *sigh* Just go ahead and read it and let me know what you think.**

***Warning* There is going to be a really long Author's Note at the end, please read it, it contains critical info concerning this story.**

**Disclaimer: Kelley Armstrong is the one who created the Darkest Powers Series, I just invented Jessa and forced Mrs. Armstrong's characters to bend to my will, so please stop stalking me. Except for the brown haired guy with the blue eyes, you can stay, I like guys who can read :)**

Epilogue

**Two months later.**

Jessa ran through the forest, trees whipping past her, her tongue hanging out of her mouth as she panted. She heard him from behind, his ragged breathing giving himself away. He was gaining on her, and Jessa started to slow, and he slowed as well, thinking his prey was exhausted from the long chase and he was finally about to reap his reward.

But then she poured on her energy, running as fast as her four legs could carry her, her lighter, nimbler body weaving through the trees and soon her hunter was far behind her. She had escaped.

Derek howled, letting her know that she had won that round of the game. Jessa gave a wolfy smile and turned and loped easily back to her 'hunter'.

It was a game they had invented that they both played whenever they Changed. One wolf played 'prey' while the other played 'hunter'. Sometimes they set boundaries or made up weird rules to make the game more interesting, but the main part was the fun they both shared. The adrenalin and the chase felt like the real thing, and they lived for the hours they spent in the forest together, loving how they could travel to a part of themselves they had never been before, embracing the animal they kept hidden away when they were humans.

So far that night Jessa had won three out of the five rounds. She believes Derek cheated once on the third round, swearing he went out of the boundary line, and when she had tried to communicate it to him, he for some odd reason was unable to understand what she was trying to say. Her greatest weapon that she had over him was how tiny she was. He had a good 80 pounds on her, and that meant she didn't use as much energy to run and that she could turn using a smaller space and weave through trees faster.

His greatest weapon was his bulk. Once he got a hold of her it took some serious skill to get out of his grasp because he would always put his weight on her, causing her legs to buckle, and she would be unable to move and break free. They each had their own weapons and they each knew how to wield them against the other.

It didn't take as long as everyone thought it would for Jessa to heal. Once she had Chloe's blood in her, her body took over and within a day she was talking and acting normal, and if it wasn't for her huge wound, you would have thought that dreaded night had never happened.

The wound took two weeks to heal thanks to her werewolf healing skills. It healed without complications, no infections, no swelling, nothing to worry about. And the only thing that remained was a horrid scar that showed where it had been. It was lumpy looking and pale and felt different from her normal skin, but Jessa didn't really care. She had never been one to care about looks, and no one would ever see it unless she took her shirt off, so she didn't fret over it.

She was never really sure what happened to those two werewolves who ran off. She assumed she had scared them, but had she scared them enough to stop them from coming back? And was the person who had wanted them going to try and capture them again? She didn't know, but for everyone's safety they had moved out of New York and into rural Maine where her and Derek had full reign over the forest around them.

What she did to Ralph shocked her once it finally sunk in. She never wanted to kill anybody, and she swore she never would. But things change when the lives of you and your loved ones are at risk. Things that you swore you would never do happen and you can't change that because sometimes you just have to do what you have to do. So was she scare and hurt about what she did? Yes. If she could do it over would she do it differently? Yes. She would kill Ralph the moment he stepped into the clearing so she wouldn't have gotten hurt and caused everyone so many problems. Would she ever kill again? Yes, if it meant protecting her pack she would. But did she like killing? No. No one deserves to be murdered and she couldn't stand taking another's life, some things you are just not meant to mess with constantly, and death was one of them.

Her breath came out in huge clouds of fog in the frigid night air. The pads of her feet allowed her to run soundlessly over the frozen forest floor as she made her way back to where Derek was waiting, waiting to face his defeat. He stood beside a tree, his tail and head hanging low as Jessa circled him proudly. Normally she wouldn't mock him like she was, but he wasn't very modest when it came to his victories, so her philosophy was to give him a taste of his own medicine.

Maybe it was just a game between them, but both Jessa and Derek took it seriously. It was probably due to the fact that they both had competitive natures and now they had found someone worth competing against, someone who was a worthy opponent. But mostly the game was meant to improve each other's skills, to find out their own personal strengths and weaknesses and find out how to use them and work around them. They needed to know how to fight so a repeat of two months ago didn't happen again. And both of them were improving drastically.

Once Jessa was done parading her victory over Derek (she snickered at how annoyed he looked) she leaped forward and nipped his left ear, signaling the start of another round, then she took of into the dark forest, Derek running right at her tail.

It was a huge forest, a national park actually, that was why Kit had picked it. He didn't want any hunters shooting at them, so the safest place for them to go and run would be a federal protected area. The house they were living in currently was placed just on the edge of the park's limits, and it was in the middle of nowhere, another plus about it. Everyone was free to do as they wanted and didn't have to worry about pesky humans intruding. Not that that would have stopped them in the first place, but it did ease their paranoia a bit.

Jessa ran Derek up the side of a huge hill and once at the top she climbed a huge rock formation, hoping from one ledge to the other. Derek stayed at the bottom, pacing back and forth, waiting to catch her when she came back down. She scanned possible escape routes, loving when she purposely got herself in these situations because they caused her to question everything around her and to dig deep inside herself for a plan.

She realized as she looked around her that maybe there wasn't a way to get out of this situation. Derek would know which way she was going, and he had the advantage of being on grass while she was on rock, she couldn't change directions as easily as he could. With a wolf equivalent of a sigh she knew she would have to accept defeat. But wait…

She saw a boulder that looked particularly unstable halfway down the rock formation. Underneath it were smaller rocks that would fall if the one on top of them did. One good pounce would send an avalanche of rocks tumbling down, and that was what Jessa needed.

She started running down the rocks, and as she neared her target, she leaped and landed on it. The rock slid out from under her and she kept running, allowing her body to flow with the downward momentum, causing her to go even faster. Poor Derek never had a chance.

He stood helplessly as Jessa ran down the rocks with amazing speed; his intentions were to catch her when she reached the bottom. But the he saw the rocks cascading after her and his plans were foiled and he paused, trying to come up with a last ditch idea. But then a 120 pound wolf was crashing into him, sending him off his feet and suddenly he and Jessa were rolling down the hill they had both just ran up moments ago. He tried to stop, but their momentum was too great and they rolled the entire way down.

When Jessa finally reached the bottom of the hill, with Derek in tow, she stood, only to fall again. Her legs were shaky and her head was spinning and her stomach didn't feel too stable at the moment. Her plan was _not_ to send both of them tumble down the hill like Jack and Jill, but to simply knock Derek off his feet and get her mouth around his throat, causing him to yield. But her plan didn't go as planned. Obviously. So she laid there, waiting for the world around her to stop spinning.

And then a mouth was around her own throat and Derek was standing over her, laughing deep in his chest. Jessa closed her eyes briefly at her own idiocy and yielded by going limp and playing dead. Then Derek let her go and she stood, stumbling as she tried to walk off the roll down the hill, Derek's chest emitting his deep rumble laugh the entire time.

Once her footing was sure again, Jessa took off in a run, having had enough for the night and wanting to go back home. It didn't take long for Derek to realize their destination and soon they were racing through the trees, miles passing by easily as they ran.

Simon was waiting for her in the back yard of their new home. She knew he had felt them trigger the perimeter spells set up to let them know of intruders, and had walked outside to meet him like he always did. She trotted right up to him and plotted her self down in the grass at his feet, her sides heaving from having won the race with Derek. Simon chuckled and scratched her ears as he watched Derek collapse in a heap in the yard, gasping for air.

"What did you two do, run a marathon?" Simon asked looking back and forth between the two wolves.

Jessa rolled her eyes at him; _you have no idea,_ it said.

Chloe came out of the screen door behind Simon and frowned, "Darn, I didn't think they would be back here that quickly. Why didn't you tell me they were here, Simon?"

"They're here." He said, not looking at her.

"Har har." Chloe muttered, then walked over and sat in the grass next to Derek, immediately putting her hands in his fur.

Jessa smiled to herself and moved closer to Simon as he kneeled next to her. She shared her body heat with him, knowing he was cold in the night's chilly air. She nuzzled his neck and rested her head on his shoulder, moving until she was practically on his lap. Simon laughed and wrapped his arms around her, burying his head in her fur.

She sighed in content as the heat of his body and arms penetrated her fur and spread over her skin. She closed her eyes, loving the moment and the warmth they shared.

When her breathing slowed again to a normal speed, she stepped away from his arms, reluctantly, of course. She needed to go Change, she wanted to be human again, and Simon needed to get inside where it was warm. Derek had already sent Chloe in as he went off to Change, if they stayed out here any longer Simon would turn into a frozen version of himself, and Jessa wasn't sure what she would think of that. Simon tried to hold on to her as she stepped away, and she laughed in her wolfish way.

"What? Are you just going to leave me to freeze to death out here all by myself?" Simon made puppy dog eyes and mused, "All alone… So cold…" Jessa snickered then nudged him towards the door of the house. _Go get warm there, _it said.

Simon looked offended, "Oh, okay, make the helpless sorcerer go inside because he can't handle the cold, I see how it is." He looked away from her, his chin up in the air.

Jessa rolled her eyes, knowing he was just kidding, trying to make her feel bad because she had to leave him to go Change. But she played along, putting her forepaws on his lap so she could nudge his chin with her nose. Simon ignored her and kept his face averted. Jessa nudged him again with her nose, this time more insistent about it. Still he ignored her. Thinking that she really hurt his feelings she backed away from him, wondering what she should do now.

But then Simon turned to her and smiled, his eyes dancing with held back laughter. And then Jessa was mad at him for making her worried for the briefest instant and she jumped on him, her paws on his shoulders, causing him to fall backwards from his sitting position. She stood over him, her nose just inches from his, staring him down, letting him know that she didn't enjoy that. Not that she was really angry, and Simon knew that, but he still reached his hand up to scratch her ears the way she like and whispered,

"I'm sorry, I was just kidding. I will go inside, like a good boyfriend." Then he pretended to look sorry for his actions. Jessa let him reflect sorrowfully for a while before snorting in his face, letting him know that she forgave him. Simon relaxed underneath her, putting his arms behind his head and smiling up at her. "So… come here often, gorgeous?"

Jessa rolled her eyes and stepped off of him and started to head towards the forest that lined their new backyard to Change back.

"Jessa." Simon's voice was quiet and serious. She stopped and turned to look at him, and he looked back, his head propped up on his arm, his expression serious, "Be careful, okay? Don't rush anything. And come straight inside when you're done. I don't want you to get frostbitten or something…" Simon finished lamely; his eyes were dark and vulnerable, pleading with her. She knew he still worried about her, even though he never put it into those exact words.

She knew every time she Changed that he worried it would be like before: hours upon hours of unbearable pain. And anytime she Changed back into human she knew he thought back to her first transformation when she was injured and screaming in pain. That's why he insisted on seeing her after she Changed, whether it be from human to wolf or wolf to human. He worried about her and by seeing her afterwards he would know that she had made it through and that the hours of her going through pain now only existed in their darkest nightmares.

It touched something in her to see him looking at her like that with worry in his eyes. He really did fear something would happen during her Change, she knew that. She had woken more than once to him thrashing around in a nightmare, calling her name, only to open his eyes and find out that it was just a dream.

She walked over to him and nuzzled his cheek, wishing she could kiss him. But she couldn't kiss in this form, the closest she could get was to lick him, but she never did for fear that she would somehow turn him into a werewolf. So she nuzzled his face, trying to convey to him what she felt, trying to rest his fears, hoping he understood that everything would be just fine so he wouldn't have to worry anymore.

And then she was trotting into the forest, listening as Simon went inside once she was out of view. She followed her own scent from earlier, leading her back to the clothes she had ditched underneath a tree. Once she found them she started to Change.

It took a while to teach herself how to Change back on command. For the first few times, she was forced to wait until her body decided, but after some lessons from Derek and his weird way of explaining that she some how managed to understand, she had to come to a point to where she could Change back from wolf to human whenever she wanted. It was the human to wolf that was the tricky part. Derek had finally mastered how to do that only a few weeks ago, after spending months trying to learn the skill. He was trying to teach it to Jessa, but she wasn't having any luck; they both figured that you learned it over time and that she would be able to do it in a few months time.

The Change was swift, much faster than it was two months ago, lasting barely 10 minutes. But that didn't mean it was painless. Compared to the hours of agony she had once gone through, this pain was nothing, but it still hurt.

Once human again, Jessa laid on the cold forest floor, suddenly overwhelmed at how tired she was. Her and Derek had ran all over that park, and after going through the Change, she needed a tiny rest before actually moving. She would have fallen asleep right where she was, freezing cold or not, had it not been for the knowledge that Simon was waiting for her, probably worrying himself grey.

With a huge sigh, Jessa stood and started pulling her clothes on; clothes that had seemed adequate just a few hours ago now seemed not enough for the night air. Shivering longingly at the memory of her warm fur, Jessa finished dressing. Once fully clothed she jogged to the house, hoping to become at least a little bit warmer on her trip back.

Simon was waiting for her at the door, of course. Once she was inside he wrapped his arms around her and backed her up against the hallway wall and kissed her full on the lips. Her hands went to his hair as his lips moved with hers with a sudden urgency. She was right in jogging back, Simon was worried out of his mind about her, and she didn't want him worrying more than he needed to. That, and she loved kissing him. Simon was a very good kisser.

"You're cold." Simon murmured, pulling her closer to him.

"'M fine." Jessa said against his lips, her brain not even fully understanding what he had said, only that his voice was full of worry.

"C'mon." Simon pulled back and grabbed her hand. Jessa let out a growl of frustration, mad that he had stopped kissing her because of something stupid.

He led her to the lit fireplace in the living room, another unique thing that Jessa loved about the house. Simon forced her to sit on the floor in front of it then wrapped a blanket around her shoulders and held her close to him. It was only then that Jessa realized that she was shivering; she had been stupid to wore crappy clothes outside in the middle of winter and was now paying for it.

Not that sitting in front of the fireplace with Simon next to her wasn't wonderful, it was extremely romantic and adorable, but she would rather be kissing at the moment.

But once the warmth of the fire and the sound of its crackling reached her, she started to be lulled into sleep's wonderful embrace. Her eyes began to drop, and her muscles began to relax, a numb feeling slipping over her body as her mind hovered between consciousness and sleep.

"Come on, you're tired," Simon nudged her head, "You need to go to bed."

Jessa groaned something unintelligible causing Simon to sigh, and then he started dragging her to her feet. With Simon's help, she made it to his and Derek's room, then she collapsed on the bed.

As far as Aunt Lauren and Kit knew, Chloe and Jessa shared one room and the boys shared another, Tori being the only teenager with a room to herself. But for the first few days after her ordeal, Jessa had nightmares, and they had gotten to a point where she didn't want to fall asleep because all she would see was blood and Ralph. She knew she needed to sleep, so she had snuck to Simon and Derek's room, and after a quick murmured conversation with Derek, her and Simon had the room to themselves. With Simon nearby, Jessa had fewer nightmares, and those that she did have were interrupted by Simon waking her up and comforting her. So the switching roommates thing became a regular thing, and the only people who minded this situation were Aunt Lauren and Kit, but what they didn't know wouldn't hurt them.

She snuggled up against Simon as he pulled the sheets over them. He wrapped his arms around her waist pulling her even closer. Jessa tangled her legs up with his, laid her head on his chest, and breathed an enormous contented sigh as she listened to his steady breathing and heartbeats.

She loved this boy who held her, loved him with all her heart. She would give her life up to save him in a heartbeat, without even thinking about what she was doing. She loved his humor and his drawings; the faces he made and the way he laughed. She loved his smile and the way his eyes sparkled and how his hair was always so soft. She loved how intense he was, how he defended all of those he was close to. She loved how he worried about her and how he didn't care that she worried about him. She loved how he would wake her from her nightmares and hold her until everything was okay.

She loved how light his fingers were as they traveled over her skin and how he was always stroking her hair, her temples, her eyelids, her cheeks. She loved how he smelled, how it could always calm her down if she was worried or upset. She loved how warm and comforting his arms were and how he always knew when she needed to be held and how she needed to be held. She loved how his lips always found hers at the right moment and how they always seem to radiate peace and joy through her.

She loved how he always managed to fix her when she was down or scared or worried, always bringing her back to herself in a way only he could. She loved how he could change her emotions just by saying words and how his simple words caused her to love him even more. She loved how he knew that sometimes words couldn't cut it, that sometimes she was so far lost that the only way to bring her back was to just hold her and listen to her. She loved how he listened to what she said; how he would frown if he didn't understand and ask her to explain.

She loved how he tossed around in his sleep and how he always double-knotted his shoelaces. She loved that his favorite food were green apples and that he was such a geek for having a fruit for a favorite food. She loved how he liked to walk around the house barefooted and that he always put on his shoes and socks with the right foot first like and OCD person. She loved how funny he looked when he was waking up in the morning and how his hair was always all messed up and adorable. She loved that little mole he had in front of his right ear, and how he always pronounced the word 'crayon' as 'crown'.

All of these things that made Simon who he was, she loved. She loved everything about him, even the bad parts.

She closed her eyes as Simon's finger traveled over her hair and down her back, then up her arm and back into her hair, his touch barely there.

She was diving into unconsciousness when Simon murmured quietly, "I love you."

Jessa smiled in her sleepy state, and nuzzled his chest, "I love you, too."

**Awww...! It's the end and now I want to cry! Or is it?**

**After giving it some long and serious thought I mentioned my dilemma to one of my good friends Kymber. And after some very good reasons were thrown back and forth between us she finally managed to talk me *cough cough* _force me_ *cough* into writing a sequel. And since Kymber loves my writing but hates how I don't have enough of Derek and Chloe in there together, I've decided to have the sequel be mostly in Chloe's perspective, though it will switch to Jessa's point of view often and maybe Derek's or Simon's when needed.**

**Now the reason I wasn't sure about writing a sequel had to do with the fact that my school year started a few weeks ago and I now have homework every night and I'm not sure when I will be able to write, or if I will even want to write when I have the time. And I know I have said something along the lines of this before but I always managed to turn out chapters at a timely manner (except once, sorry for those of you who I had kept waiting) but that was back during the end of my freshman year and during the summer so things are different now.**

**Also, I don't know when I will start the sequel because I want to think up a good plot before I start writing, I have an idea now, but it's vague and I want to put more thought into it. But I just made myself promise to start it before Halloween (October 31st) just so I don't have you guys waiting for forever. And I plan on posting a chapter after this one when I finally do start on the new story so you guys know when it's started and what it is called, so keep looking for an update.**

**Now I want to take up more space and thank all of you who have reviewed. I love you all. I'm serious. You guys were the ones that kept me going, otherwise I would have quit as soon as I had writer's block. I wish all of my writing could be like this, if I had you guys giving me encouragement for everything that I write, I would have a finished book by now, or maybe two. I love you all and you guys have no idea how much even just a tiny comment can do, I owe you guys so much. And if you were one of the ones who reviewed, I want you to do something that I'm sure you haven't done since leaving the fourth grade: I want you to pat yourself on the back because you helped to write this story.**

**And finally I want to thank Kymber for being my idea-bouncer-offer and the person who listened to me babble when the only person it made sense to was me and just nodding along and agreeing like any great friend does. Thank you Kymber!**

**And so I would love it if you guys all reviewed one more time, just for my sake, and I hope you decide to read the sequel when it finally comes out. And if you're reading this like a year from now and are thinking "hmm... this story was finished a year ago, surely the author wouldn't still want comments." I will be the one to assure you that this author does want comments, I always want comments. So please review, I'm begging you. I love you all!**

**Thanks so much- Cheerfully Blue**


	18. Author's Note

**Hello my faithful readers. I am now happy to say that I have posted the first chapter in my sequel.**

**The sequel is call A Necromancer In The Making and is in Chloe's POV.**

**Now trust me when I say that it's a good story, even if the first chapter isn't as good as my usual. I swear that I have a good story in line for you, trust me.**

**So please go and read my new story, you can get on my profile and go down to 'My stories' and both of my stories will pop up. **

**Soooooo... yeah... please read it!**

**Thanks- Cheerfully Blue**


	19. IMPORTANT FOR ALL!

**This has nothing to do with this story, but I'm hoping that by posting this, it will reach more people. Please read. It's IMPORTANT FOR ALL. And add it to one of your own stories if you want. Or PM me, and I can add your name to it.**

**Posted 6/5/12**

This is actually about how Fanfiction is deleting stories with too much sex or violence. Fanfiction will be losing a lot of readers and authors if this happens. Please take the time read what is below and if you don't have a story that you can post this petition as a chapter too, just PM me if you want your name added to the list. I'll be more than happy to oblige.

Greetings to the fine folk that moderate our site.

Myself, along with many, have been writing and posting on your fine site for years now, some of the better examples of up and coming writers out there are now suddenly finding some of the stories we've come to love at risk of being removed without the chance to even rectify our errors.

For some, that means the permanent loss of a story. While I don't have anything that I believe violates your terms of use, there are those out there that are never able to recover a story in its original form, this is something I find to be almost worthy of a legal action, as while we cannot claim ownership of a character, the stories are OURS and simply destroying them is something that is inexcusable.

It's quite easy to simply add an MA rating, additional filters or even a simple requirement for a free membership to read the stories presented here, and would cut down on hateful anonymous reviews and posts at the same time, so I have to question as to why such a thing, in all this time, simply wasn't added.

If you're worried about falsification of a registration then have an appropriate disclaimer and then there can be no dispute, you took your steps and the PARENTS didn't monitor their children, if that is even your concern. If it is more of a personal view or desire then please at least let people know and give them a chance to remove a story that you and yours find offensive, most people on the site are actually rather cordial when it comes to such requests.

While I cannot say for sure if this letter will even reach those that may be willing to listen, of if it's more akin to a wide spectrum purge in preparation for something bigger, please understand that you are going to be losing a LARGE number of your writers, and thus your income from a lack of readers if there is not some level of action taken to help with this situation.

For those that may agree with this, please feel free to sign on and send this to the support server, maybe we can get some movement on this.

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If you could do what some other authors have done and post this petition as a temporary new chapter on some of your stories to help spread the word? It would help a lot it's how I found out about this.


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